Smile
by Hiyume
Summary: AU. Maka is forced from her Private school years into a Public education; a new life for her. As she struggles through this huge change, she takes notice upon a certain outcast student... SouMaka. Rated for language, violence, and possibly later chapters.
1. Smile

**A/N: **I haven't written a very long Fanfic yet, have I? Well, to make up for that, I'm going to write this story. I'm not sure how many chapters this fanfic will be, but I'm hoping at LEAST 10. I have many ideas wrapped up in my mind right now for this Fic, so this chapter is just an introduction.

As mentioned in the description, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) story, so if you don't like AU, don't flame me for it. Just don't read this D:

Anyway, enjoy~

**Disclaimer: **I am not worthy of owning Soul Eater, for it is too great of a series D:

0ooooooooooooooooo0

Maka groaned groggily as she slammed her palm against the source of the annoying beeping sound she hadn't heard for over two months. Two full months of sleeping in, watching TV all day and generally doing nothing with her summer break; then school decided to sneak up on her. Not just school.

_Public high school._

Her family was very humble about being slightly richer than everyone else in the city. They lived in a normal home, with a normal lifestyle, except for the occasional expensive gift or pricey dinner. They spent their fortune mostly on Maka's school. She'd gone to a private school her whole life, but now it was different. She was going into grade nine, the beginning of _high school, _and she wouldn't know anyone because it was her first year with a regular, less-pricey education.

Maka found herself walking out of her room without realizing it, her legs dragging her away from her nice, cozy bed, and into the hell that was the morning. She plumped herself down into a chair at the kitchen table, slamming her head against the hard wood as her eyes protested the light.

"Good morning!" A familiar voice chirped over the crackling of bacon at the stove, "Ready for your first day?"

"God, no…" The blonde grumbled, her head still against the table. She looked up at the red-haired figure as it placed three pieces of bacon and two eggs on a plate. "Papa, why do I have to go to a _public _high school? Why couldn't I stay in a private school?" she whined. Her father sighed heavily, placing the plate of food in front of her.

"Trust me, Maka. We really wanted you to stay in a private school, but our finances are sort of… held up right now." He explained with a flinch.

"… Held up? How?" she eyed suspiciously. The man just smiled and patted her head gently.

"It's a bit complicated, but don't worry about it. Now eat up; you've got a long day ahead of you."

Maka grumbled under her breath as she poked and prodded at her eggs. She probably wouldn't have liked staying in a private school, anyway. Her only friend, Crona, had to move away due to some parental issues, so Maka would only be able to see her every month or so when she came to visit. Ending up alone in private school made her worry. She just hoped it wouldn't end up the same in _this _high school.

After gulping down the rest of her bacon and chugging her milk, Maka placed her plate in the sink and headed off to her room to change. She opened her closet and just stood there, staring at the clothing she only ever wore _after _school. She'd always gone to school in uniform, so she'd never thought about what to wear. But since this school didn't have uniforms, she'd have to pick her own clothes. The only problem was that she didn't know what teenagers wore to school. Skirts? Jeans? Cargos? Baggy shirts? Spaghetti straps? It was all so confusing to her. She dreaded the thought of having to do this almost every day for four years.

After about 5 minutes of raking through clothing, she settled on her favorite outfit; a white collared shirt, yellow sweater-vest, and a red and black plaid skirt. It was casual to her, though it looked rather similar to her old uniform. She brushed and tied her hair up, like she always did, and headed off to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"Good luck at school, alright, hun? Be strong!" Another voice encouraged just as Maka packed her lunch. She turned and smiled at her mother, who stood in a victory stance a few feet away.

"Okay, Mama, I will." She replied with a gentle hug. With that, she heaved her bag over her shoulders, muttering her goodbyes to her parents and shutting the door behind her on her way out.

Maka frowned at the sunless sky as she walked to her bus stop. She was used to the sun greeting her each morning as she was driven to school, its rays waking her eyes. But now she saw the moon sitting where the sun should have been. It felt like the middle of the night.

She turned the corner to find her bus stop crowded with people. It surprised her. What were there? Ten people? At her old bus stop, there were only three students; Crona, herself, and someone else they hadn't really talked to. So many people in one place this early in the morning made a lot of noise. They all went quiet and watched Maka for a few seconds before turning back to each other to continue their conversations.

The full force of starting a new school hit her like a brick, and she could feel her hands trembling and her face going pale. She clenched her fists and stood a few feet away from the group, tapping her foot and waiting for the bus to arrive. She heard the group giggle behind her; she hoped it wasn't because of her outfit.

It felt like an eternity before the bus arrived, and when it did, she sighed loudly, realizing she'd been holding her breath. Maka climbed on the bus and immediately took a seat in the front. She wouldn't dare sit in the back. Even private schools had their fare share of 'cool' kids who'd take up the back seats. She wouldn't be caught dead in the back on the first day of school.

As the students filed into the bus, Maka found herself inspecting the bus seat, disgusted by its condition. Gum, dirt, and other gross objects covered the material. And were those… cigarette holes?

To distract herself from the revolting sight, Maka started fumbling with her bag, making sure she had everything packed. With a frightening thought, she realized that she might have forgotten her phone- her one lifeline. She frantically searched her bag for her dear friend. She'd searched until they'd gotten to the next bus stop and another load of students filed in. It was then, she realized with disdain, that her phone had been in her hand this whole time. She slapped herself mentally for being so idiotic. If she was going to act like this all day, there was no way she'd make any friends. The thought aggravated her once again.

She'd been so wrapped up in her frustration that she'd almost missed the white-haired teenager that stared at her as he walked passed.

**A/N: **I WAS going to make this chapter longer, but I wanted everyone to get a sort of feel of what I was getting at when I said AU. So? How was it? Hope it was alright… And again, sorry for any typos. XD;

The next chapter will be WAY longer than this. Again this chapter was more of an introduction, showing Maka's distress and her first odd meeting with… a certain white-haired person. ~wiggly eyebrows~

Anyway, reviews, please! Your opinion is greatly appreciated. And throw some ideas into your review, while you're at it. I'll gladly use them if I can fit them in x3


	2. Acceptance

**A/N: **Thanks to all of the people that took the time to read my story and review/leave a comment! It means so much! 9 reviews in one day really inspired me to get the chapter up as soon as I could, and here it is, the night after the first chapter xD;

Anyway, I hope you enjoy. And sorry if some characters are OOC, and for any typos. Blame exams. D:

**Disclaimer: **I tried buying Soul Eater off of eBay, but Chuck Norris beat me to it. Damn.

0oooooooooooooooooooooooo0

She was frightened. Absolutely _petrified. _Was this really a school, or had her parents sent her to some crazy boot camp?

There was havoc everywhere Maka looked as she got out of the bus; Seniors throwing bottles and other garbage at each other, hysteric laughing and screaming in every direction, and not to mention hearing the F-bomb at least twenty times every minute.

This wasn't school. Oh no, no. This was a hellhole. Satan could be the principal, for all she knew.

Maka kept her wide eyes glued to the floor as she walked… no, _squeezed _her way through the halls. Why was it so _crowded _here? There were so many other places these students could hang out before classes. In private schools, the halls were more spacious because the students _noticed _each other. Here, groups of over ten students would block up the hallway and not care that you were trying to get passed.

She found her eyes wandering across the lockers and walls, and she didn't like what she saw there much better than what she saw on the floor. Old juice stains and worn away vandalism covered the cement walls, and crude drawings of male anatomy decorated lockers. It was all so _horrifying. _Maka was surprised she hadn't started crying yet.

She took in a deep breath and pulled out a folded sheet of paper from her bag. Unfolding it, she read the locker number assigned to her in the top right corner. 4242.

_Shini, shini… die, die?!_

She could have sworn this was an omen. Maka took in a shaky breath and made her way down the halls again, trying to spot her locker despite the loads of people blocking her view. After about a minute of walking and darting her eyes around the hallway, she spotted locker #4242.

And she just kept walking. She didn't need a locker anyway.

Maka would have sunk to the floor if it weren't for the clogged hallways. She felt defeated and stressed out, and classes hadn't even started yet. With a careless gaze, Maka ran over her schedule quickly, memorizing the room numbers of her classes and putting the crumpled sheet into her bag.

She didn't hear the yelling behind her over all the other noises in the hallway.

"Hey! HEY! Girl with pigtails! Wait!" a voice screamed, unheard by the blonde. Maka felt her breath leave her lungs as a strange-looking boy spun her around. He was wearing a pair of tight jeans with skater shoes and a t-shirt. The strange thing was that all his clothing was black.

But what intrigued her the most was that three white, horizontal stripes ornamented the left side of his black hair.

"Wait, wha…?" was all Maka could say to the teen, who was now staring at her with idolizing eyes.

"I knew my eyes weren't betraying me! You… Did you know that you're perfectly symmetrical?" he breathed out, still taking in her features. Maka blinked at him, still a bit confused as to why he adored her.

"Uh… well… that's all fine and dandy, but I'm a little lost. Could you help me find Room 888, Grade nine English?" she asked awkwardly. The boy gasped over-dramatically.

"You! This is a miracle! You're in my homeroom class, as well! Come, you're sitting next to me!" he chanted, grabbing her elbow and dragging her through the congested hall, where people watched and giggled at the scene. Maka slapped herself mentally. First, she was panicking about her locker, and now a lunatic was dragging her to her English class. Could this day get any worse?

… Yeah, it probably could.

Within moments, they were standing in front of Room 888, the door perfectly clean, unlike every other surface Maka set her eyes on. Her kidnapper set his hand on the doorknob, and Maka raised an eyebrow.

"But… shouldn't you wait for the teacher…?" she asked nervously. The boy scoffed.

"Nonsense!" he chirped, opening the door. Just as they entered the room, the bell rang. "The teacher won't mind if class has started, will they?" Maka muttered a slight 'no' under her breath as the boy walked her to the back of the room and plopped her down in a seat. "So tell me." He continued, gazing intently at her with a puzzled expression as he sat down next to her. "How _don't _I know you?"

"Oh… uh, well… I went to a private school all my life…" she sputtered, taking her elbow from his grasp. "It's Maka Albarn, by the way."

"Ah, yes! I haven't introduced myself! I'm Death The Kidd, but everyone calls me Kidd." He greeted excitedly. Maka shifted uncomfortably in her seat. What kind of parents would name their child Death The Kidd?

"I know what you're thinking. What kind of parents would name their kid Kidd, right? It's a long story, but you could just say that my parents are a bit… nuts in the head." He explaining while making circles with his index finger by the side of his temple, answering the question she'd had in mind.

"Good morning, class!" a shrill voice welcomed just as the second bell rang. The woman at the front smiled at the half of the class that bothered to be on time before turning around and grabbing a piece of chalk from the chalkboard. She scrawled something swiftly onto the black surface, and stepped to the side for all to see. In neat, cursive writing, it said 'Ms. Mjolnir'.

"I will be your English teacher for this semester. I hope I can get to know all of you before our time together ends." she beamed, even as students walked into the classroom late. She began explaining something, but her voice was drowned out by the teen sitting next to her.

"God! These people could at least give some _effort _for their first day. No one here is symmetrical at _all._" He then turned to her, grinning as he did. "Except for you, of course."

"Uh… won't we get in trouble if we talk?" Maka asked nervously, fidgeting with the material of her skirt.

"Pah! There's no way either of us will get into trouble. Even if the teacher notices us talking, she can't do anythi- Oh! You don't know who my father is!" he exclaimed, as if he'd had an epiphany. He leaned on the back legs of his chair and crossed his feet on the desk, his arms resting on his stomach. "My father is president of the school board, so it's kind of like all the teachers in this school have to wake up every morning and form a line to kiss his ass. Even the _guys._" He sighed in an exaggerated tone. Maka giggled, and he looked at her with that same idolizing expression he'd had in the hall.

"Even your _laugh _is balanced! It's amazing!" he awed, taking his legs off the desk. Maka raised an eyebrow at him.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for a bit, but… if you're so obsessed with symmetry, why do you have three stripes in your hair? And only on the left side?" she asked bluntly. Kidd's shoulders became tense, and within a few seconds, his head slammed against the desk, his arms folded together in front of him as he sulked about his hair. Maka bit her lip.

Maybe that was the wrong question to ask…

---Smile---

English dragged on in a daze. Maka was hardly able to listen to Ms. Mjolnir over Kidd's mumbles and sobs. If public school was anything like private school, classes didn't teach much of anything on the first day. Maka was calmed by this thought as she sat idly through class, trying her best to comfort Kidd about his hair.

As soon as the bell had rung, Maka left the classroom, waving a quick goodbye to a brooding Kidd before making her way to PE.

The gym wasn't too far away. She'd made it with minutes to spare, pushing the doors open and entering the large, echoing room. She blinked, dumbfounded by the size. Her old school's gym was at least three times smaller than this. It was now that she truly comprehended the amount of students this school held.

To her surprise, at least three quarters of the students were already there, chatting away about their summer and boyfriends. In dismay, Maka seated herself on a bench off to the side, resting her head against the padded wall. At least she'd _had _someone in English class. Here, there wasn't anyone to talk to.

"I-Is there something wrong?" a quiet voice asked. The person belonging to the voice sat at the other end of the bench, staring at her with concerned blue irises. Maka rubbed the back of her head and looked at the ground.

"Well… not really… Okay, yeah. There is. I'm not used to going to a public high school, really. I'm just a little frustrated by the changes. I don't have a locker…"

"Really? Why don't you have a locker?" Maka looked from the ceiling back to the floor with a frustrated groan.

"My locker was number 4242, but when I went to put my lock on it… the door had been ripped off, and there was something in there that made the hallway smell worse than it already did…" she grimaced at the reoccurring image that plagued her mind. She saw the girl frown from the corner of her eye.

"Well, if you really need one, you could share with me. I wouldn't mind." Maka made eye contact with the smiling girl sitting a few feet away. This was the most generous person she'd met all da- no, all _year._

"Wow, really? That would be really great, but… I don't even know your name…" Maka sputtered in response. The black-haired teen's smile fell into an expression of surprise.

"Oh! I'm sorry! That was kind of rude… Um, I'm Tsubaki. It's nice to meet you." She said politely, offering her hand.

"Maka…" the blonde mumbled back, taking Tsubaki's hand and shaking it gently. She looked up at the smiling face of the generous teen and smiled back. She'd already made two friends, and half the day hadn't even gone by yet.

The teacher came through the doors with a slam, holding a clipboard and a pen, with a whistle around his neck. He wore a headband around his forehead, the red kanji for 'hole' decorating the front. "Alright, listen up!" he roared over the giddy teens, who snapped their attention to him as soon as they heard his booming voice.

"All of you will call me Sid, and _only _Sid. No 'Mr.' crap. I won't be giving you any respect, so I don't need yours. That's the kind of man I am."

---Smile---

Maka was relieved that they didn't have to do any exercises in gym for the first day. They'd gone through the rules and basic guidelines of what was to be expected during this semester, and this is what had started the conversation between Tsubaki and herself as they walked out of the gym to head for lunch.

"But I don't understand! Why do we only have four classes per semester? We'll forget everything we learned from our first four classes _next _year, so doesn't that make it harder?" Maka complained as they squeezed their way through the halls. Tsubaki chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of her head.

"W-well, Kidd said that his father changed it after realizing how incapable the students here were of handling 8 subjects of homework every night. So to lessen the load, he split the classes up into the two semesters." she explained as best she could. Maka stuck her lower lip out in a pout as she sorted out her points.

"I… guess that makes sense, but… Oh, wait! You know Kidd?" Maka stated with surprised. Tsubaki batted her eyelids once in confusion.

"Kidd? Yes. I've known him every since I was a little kid. Where do you know him from?"

"Oh, he's in my English class first period. I mentioned his hair…" Maka could see Tsubaki flinch from the corner of her eye.

"Well, let's hope he forgot about that…"

Just as Tsubaki muttered the words, Maka spotted a familiar hair pattern standing by a locker. As they walked closer, she realized that the locker was open, and the gloomy teen was checking his hair in a mirror.

"It doesn't look like he forgot…" Maka mumbled under her breath. Kidd did a double take after seeing them, and immediately, he was joyful.

"Oh, Maka, my symmetrical friend! Looks like you've met Tsubaki!" he proclaimed in a singsong voice. Maka smiled nervously at his sudden enthusiasm. Tsubaki tapped her shoulder and whispered into her ear.

"_He's not always like this. It only happens when he sees something perfectly symmetrical. In this case, you." _ Maka's face visibly drooped. One day she'd have to wear something unsymmetrical, just so she could see his other personality. Maka nodded in response to both Tsubaki and Kidd.

"Yeah, she's in my PE class." the blonde explained as Tsubaki opened the locker next to Kidd's.

"Hey, Kidd, who's this chick? She's flat as a board!" someone called out as they approached. Maka followed the sound of the voice to a blue-haired teen.

Who was staring straight at her. Her breasts, specifically.

Maka's face flushed from his comment and she covered her chest by crossing her arms. "Black Star…" Tsubaki scolded, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"What? She is!" he whined.

"I'm not flat! Just… under-developed…" Maka shot back, her face as red as a tomato.

"I think that's the exact same thing, actually." Maka jumped as a voice snuck up behind her. She looked up to see a sand-haired girl wearing tight jeans and a red collared shirt standing a foot or so away. She blinked when a shorter girl popped out from behind the other. Her clothes were the same in color, but instead of jeans, there were shorts, and her shirt was a red tank top.

"Kyaha! She looks like a boy with pigtails!" The blonde-haired one laughed. Maka wasn't sure if it was possible, but her face became redder than it already was.

"Liz, Patty! Stop insulting our guest! This is Maka. Notice the bala- Oh my god!" Kidd exclaimed suddenly. He took a step closer to Maka, and she flinched away. He was violating her personal space. "Y-Your left pigtail… it's one millimeter higher than you're right one! Stay still." He hissed, whipping her around and quickly taking out her left pigtail. Maka stood still in shock. She wasn't used to talking to so many people at once. She'd only had Crona as a friend before, so there was never a group. It frightened her to have so many people paying attention to her.

"Alright! Perfect! Good as new!" Kidd cheered as he stepped back to admire his work. He smiled and nodded in approval, locking his locker, along with Tsubaki's. "Now, to lunch!"

Maka and the rest of the group followed him as he marched down the hall. It was almost empty, now that everyone had moved to the cafeteria and gone outside to eat. Their laughter and conversations echoed against the vandalized walls loudly. Their footsteps could be heard from far away.

And because of the empty hallways, it was easy to spot someone you recognized. Maka did.

That familiar face walked by their group swiftly, as if he was in a hurry, but the moment that his eyes, his crimson red eyes, had met her green ones, it felt like time had stopped. Her heart jumped in her chest from his stare, as if telling her to run away or ignore the white-haired teen. Look away. Shut up. Plug her ears. But she didn't. She stared right back, and behind that frightening gaze, she found something else.

Pain. Fear. Sadness. She didn't know how she saw it, but it was there. She had no doubts. As quick as it came the moment was gone, and the boy had disappeared around the corner.

"That guy… he's on my bus…" Maka muttered, not even realizing she'd said it.

"Who, that white-haired guy?" Liz asked, "Geez, was he staring at you? He does that to everyone. Well, at least since he moved here in grade three."

"… Does he have any friends…?"

"Nah. It's not that everyone rejects him, though. Rather, it's the opposite. It's like he's rejecting everyone else." Maka took this in, staring Liz in the eye with a concerned look.

"Did something happen to him…?" she asked in almost a whisper.

"Not that anyone knows of. Why?"

"He looked so… pained. And sad." Everyone went silent at that moment, turning their sights to her as if she'd said something impossible. She didn't realize it, though. Her eyes were on the floor as they strolled to their lunch spot. Their conversation had started up again after a few minutes, but Maka hardly spoke. Not only because she was shy and uncomfortable, still trying to fit in, but also because her mind was still on that gaze. She couldn't have been imagining it. There was no way she could have been. His scarlet, menacing eyes… they were hiding something from everyone. She could see it though. The pain and sorrow that welled up behind them.

It made _her _want to cry.

---Smile---

Lunch had come and gone, as if it hadn't happened. Maka'd gotten to know everyone a little better, such as how Black Star believed he was better than everyone else, and how Patty acted like a six-year-old. She'd feel more comfortable having lunch with them tomorrow, she was sure.

Maka entered room 207 just as the second bell rang. She would've been late for Math if she hadn't run through the crowded hallways. Kidd had held her back because her pigtails were off again. If it weren't for his symmetrical obsession, she would've been able to walk to class.

Maka quickly took a seat in the second-closet row to the back of the class. The desks were ordered in pairs, and the seat next to her was empty. She doubted anyone would fill it.

The teacher had already been sitting at her desk, reading papers and scrawling notes. Her name was written in large letters on the chalkboard, 'Ms. Azusa.', along with a set of page numbers and questions under it.

"Alright class, my name is on the board. Please take a textbook from the front desk and write your name along with the textbook's number on the sheet, and work on the questions. This is all review, mind you." The teacher announced as she scrawled something down. "I'll be taking attendance, so listen for your name. Maka Albarn?"

Maka stood to get a textbook and raised her hand in acknowledgment of her name, trying desperately to push through the crowd of students to grab a book. It took her a few minutes, but eventually, she was able to sit down and start on her work. The textbook was horrid, though she'd managed to get the best one. The corners were ripped and the picture on the cover was hardly identifiable. The pages felt as if the whole book had been dunked in water and left to dry in the sun. They were hard to turn, and some pages were slightly sticky. She grimaced as she found a piece of gum on the last page.

She sighed in aggravation and continued with her work, focusing intently on the questions. They were easy question for her. She'd learned this in grade six. She wasn't sure what the curriculum for public schools were, but judging by the groans and head-scratching around her, they'd probably learned this last year.

Maka'd finished her work within ten minutes, and as she walked up to hand her work to the teacher, she heard people around her gasp. And snicker.

Ms. Azusa accepted the paper with a bewildered expression, adjusting her glasses to skim through her work. She looked up and smiled at the blonde. "Good job." she praised, and Maka smiled shyly back. She sat back down in her seat and produced a book from the smaller pocket of her bag.

She heard snickering behind her, but she ignored it. After a few minutes, though, she knew they were snickering at her.

"What a nerd… She has a book!" One whispered to the other.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she wrote that herself." The other joked, and another round of snickering began. Maka simply rolled her eyes, returning to the second chapter of her interesting novel.

Her shoulders tensed when she felt a crumpled piece of paper whip her head. Her eye twitched, but she didn't dare turn around and tell them to stop. Her mother had taught her about public schools, and she always told her that if she kept telling someone to stop, they'd just tease her more. So she ignored them, sinking into her seat and bringing her book closer to her face. Even then, she felt her eyes water.

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the classroom door, and she looked up. The student nearest the entrance turned the handle with their foot, not bothering to get up from their desk. The door swung open, and a student walked in.

Maka's eyes became wide, her whole body becoming stiff in her chair. The teacher looked up from her desk, adjusting her glasses and squinting her eyes. She looked at her attendance sheet.

"Soul Eater Evans, am I correct? You're rather late for your first day. Anyway, please grab a textbook and take a seat."

The desk next to Maka's was the only empty one.

**A/N: **I was going to make this chapter longer, but seeing as it's already eight and a half pages on Word, I'll stop here xD;

So, Soul finally comes into play in the next chapter, after the introduction of all the other characters. I know Kidd is rather OOC right now, but don't worry, he'll calm down later.

I've thought of many ideas since the last chapter (It's only been a day…), so get ready for another one very soon! And now I should be studying for an exam! XD

(And about the school thing… I'm not sure how schedules work for you guys, but in my school, I have 4 classes per semester, lunch before or after period 3. But I'm in a catholic school system [blame my parents], and I live in Canada, so D:)

Again, reviews are always appreciated! I love getting them. It always gives me a reason and inspiration to write. :3


	3. Mute

**A/N: **My sister came for a surprise visit this weekend, so I wasn't able to submit this chapter yesterday. She likes to take up a lot of my time when she's over. Sorry xD;

This chapter is slightly shorter than the last one, but I hope you don't mind. There weren't really any characters to introduce in this chapter. This is more of a Soul-centric chapter (fangirls: OMGSOULLLL.), and pretty much every chapter after this will be Soul-centric (fangirls: OMGMOARSOULLLL.). But I have many ideas for the coming chapters, so expect lots of stuff soon~

Anyway, hope you enjoy~

**Disclaimer: **I'm too afraid to steal Soul Eater from Chuck Norris. DAMN YOU EBAY.

0ooooooooooooooooooooooo0

Maka had always liked Math. It was effortless for her, solving with specific rules. Everything was straightforward; almost no thinking was involved. The equations deciphered the answer for her. It was one of her favorite subjects.

After today, it probably wouldn't be.

As the white-haired teen made his way to the empty desk and everyone in the class stopped talking, Maka's shoulders tensed even more. The atmosphere of the room had immediately changed. The air suddenly felt stiff with vigilance and fear. The people around her kept their eyes on the late student, but Maka kept reading, despite her instinct to look at him.

She'd get the same feeling she'd had in the hallway. Look away. But then she'd want to look at him again, and the whole thing would go on in a loop. Maka gulped down the lump in her throat and flipped the page of her book. She'd read the previous page, but she hadn't understood a word of what it'd said.

The student sat in the chair after what felt like minutes instead of seconds. As he took out his binder and placed it on the desk, the chatter began again, along with the snickering that echoed behind Maka.

They'd started up again, throwing balls of paper at the back of her head and cracking jokes she could obviously hear. Suddenly, they went quiet. She didn't hear another joke or feel anything hit her head for a few minutes.

That was, until one of them had the nerve to grab her pigtails and pull them back. _Hard._

Maka yelped loudly, causing a few people to look back and raise their eyebrows. She dropped her book in her lap and clasped her hands over her mouth. The two behind her guffawed noisily at her reaction, pointing and holding their stomachs from their practical joke. Maka took in a wobbly breath, shaking her head slightly and going back to her book as if nothing had happened. She could feel tears starting to well up, but she blinked them away. From the corner of her eye, she could see that the person beside her had stopped writing.

He was staring at her.

Maka didn't look back at him. She was too afraid to. She didn't know whether he was concerned or if he was looking down on her. She was sure it was the latter.

Suddenly, his body shifted on his chair, and from what she could see, he'd turned his torso to look at the two jokers. He said nothing, but within seconds, the laughing had stopped.

The room had gone silent for the rest of the period.

---Smile---

Maka found herself spacing out as she made her way to her last class, her brow furrowed in frustration. She should have been excited for it, but she wasn't. This was the course she'd been looking forward to all summer long.

Music Theory.

Maka knew she wouldn't be able to play an instrument, but she didn't mind. Her mother could play the piano. It wasn't astounding, but it still amazed her daughter that she could play such a complicated musical object.

She'd asked her mother about music when she was ten years old, and from then on, she'd tell her little bits and pieces on how to read music. It fascinated her, how little dots on a sheet of paper could represent notes. Each line representing a sound, each dot and shade representing time… She'd thought the person who'd created this system was a pure genius.

Her mind was off that now. Maka's legs worked automatically as her brain sorted through the day's events; specifically, what had just happened in Math class.

Liz had explained the white-haired teenager's history of school with them, telling her specific stories that related to each part of his personality. Like how he'd only make eye contact with someone once, and then he'd leave that person alone. _"If you catch eye contact with him and look away, he'll never look at you again. No one knows why."_

She'd caught him staring at her three times that day. Once on the bus, once in the halls, and the one time just after the idiots sitting behind her in math class pulled her hair. She'd made eye contact with him in the hallway, but he'd still stared at her. Was it because… she _didn't _look away?

"He rejects everyone. It's like he holds a grudge against everything that lives for no reason. He always sat alone in our old school's cafeteria. Black Star tried talking to him once, but as soon as the guy saw him, he picked up his lunch tray and stormed out into the halls. He doesn't give anyone a chance. He ignores everyone. He doesn't care if someone's in trouble. It's like he's in his own world."

If this was true… then why had he helped her in Math class? He'd looked at the two boys, and they'd shut up immediately. She already knew why. No one knew him, so they didn't know what he was like. They were afraid because they didn't understand.

Still, the questions rang through her head. Why? Why had he helped her? Why did he take notice of her at all?

Her thoughts were cut short as she bumped into something. She blinked a few times, realizing it was a person. A very tall person.

"Watch where you're going, you stupid Niner!" the senior's booming voice hissed at the blonde before pushing her into a locker. She grimaced as pain shot through her back from the impact on the cold metal. Maka looked up and saw the senior scowling down at her. "What are you, blind?" he growled.

"I-I'm sorry…" she sputtered, her hands starting to shake. The buff teenager suddenly grabbed one of her pigtails, pulling her forward and forcing her on her tiptoes. She bit her lip to hold in a screech. Her eyes were wide as they made contact with his fiery irises.

"Are you, really?" he spat. Maka could hear laughter around her as a group of other seniors gathered around. Her mouth was slightly agape as she was at a loss for words. The hulking teenager smirked. "Lost your voice all of a sudden? Here, let me help you with that…" he grinned evilly, the hand holding her hair slowly raising as he lifted her off the floor. She closed her eyes tightly as the pain started to rise.

Suddenly, it stopped. Maka's eyelids shot open. What she saw bewildered her.

A hand was placed on the attacker's forearm. The grip he'd had on her hair had loosened slightly, but he still held it. She didn't dare move. She was too surprised to move. What had stopped the senior from lifting her from the ground was not a teacher or one of his friends.

It was a freshman, and not just any freshman.

Maka could see it in his crimson eyes. That piercing look that everyone seemed to fear. He was confronting someone twice his size, and even then he was able to intimidate the bully. Maka could almost imagine him spitting the word 'stop' in a menacing tone.

The senior stood petrified for a few moments, captured by his threatening gaze. He glanced at Maka for a short moment before looking back at her defender. He ripped his arm from the teen's grasp and let go of her hair before storming through the group that had gathered and down the hall, disappearing from their sight. The crowd started to disperse, some watching the white-haired adolescent with mixed emotions; some of confusion, some of fear.

Maka finally found her voice, but just as she was about to mutter a 'thank you', the teen walked off. He hadn't even so much as glanced at her this whole time. She watched him, even as the second bell rang. She'd have to thank him tomorrow.

As she made her way to room 315 for Music Theory, Maka contemplated an excuse for being late.

She doubted her teacher would believe what had just happened.

---Smile---

Maka'd ended up telling her teacher that she'd run into some trouble in the hallways. Mr. West, her teacher, nodded in understanding, gesturing to an empty seat at the front of the class and continuing with his lesson. She hadn't missed anything she'd already learned from her mother. She knew it would be a couple weeks before she'd learn something knew, but she didn't mind. She loved hearing about music, anyway.

By the end of class, Maka was astonished by her teacher's skill on the violin.

---Smile---

The blonde closed the front door of her home behind her with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling with furrowed brows. Maka's last class had taken her mind off of the fowl events of the day, but as soon as the bell rang and she'd boarded her bus, she was reminded. Everywhere she looked, she found a student staring at her, either with confusion or concern. One freshman girl had actually come up to her and asked her if she was okay. She waved it off with a simple 'I'm alright' and kept walking, her pace slightly quicker.

She was reminded again on the bus. As she walked up the stairs, the loud chatter had immediately stopped. Looking around with wide eyes, she'd seen that everyone had been looking directly at her with the same looks from the hallways. Maka sat down in her usual seat at the front, and the talking began. But this time, everyone was whispering and mumbling to each other. Their previous topics demolished, they began murmuring about what had happened in the halls just before last period. She could hear a few people that sat a couple seats away.

"Did you hear what happened after third?"

"A bit, but it's kind of unclear. Why's everyone so interested about it?"

"You know Soul?"

"Soul Eater Evans? That weird freshman that never talks? What about him?"

"Apparently he stopped the senior football team's quarterback from beating that girl to a pulp."

"What!? But Tsuyoi could step on that guy like an ant! That's unbelievable…"

Maka sank in her seat from all the attention. She hated being noticed in a negative way. Suddenly, the bus had gone silent again. Looking up, she'd realized why. The student of the day had stepped onto the bus, his scarlet eyes staring at the floor so as to not make eye contact with all of the other students clearly staring at him in awe. He sat directly behind her, like he had on the way to school, but this time, she'd stiffened. He wasn't just another student on the bus anymore.

"So, Soul Eater! Heard what you did today, buddy! Finally opening up, eh?" a freshman grinned behind the white-haired teen. The student in question did not make a single move, acting as if he'd said nothing. The atmosphere of the bus had stiffened, as if the person who'd spoken had asked for a death wish. "Hey, I'm talking to ya, man!" he pushed on, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.

His head spun around with lightening speed, and immediately the giddy freshman took his hand from his shoulder. Maka heard a few people gasp behind her, and she knew immediately why.

That glare he'd given to the senior in the hallways was plastered on his face now. She didn't have to look, but she knew. She knew that if his intense gaze could scare off the toughest senior in the school, it could scare off a busload of students.

She heard the seat behind her shift, signaling that he'd turned back into his seating position. The bus was quiet the whole ride back.

Now, as Maka leaned against the front door of her home, she wondered if that was the same look he'd given to the kids in her Math class.

A soft mewing sound broke her train of thought. It surprised her at first, but after realizing what it was, Maka smiled down at the floor. A small, violet cat purred as it rubbed against her legs. She picked it up gently, nuzzling their noses together.

"Poor Blair, had to sit at home alone for so many hours." Maka pitied as the kitten began licking her cheek. She giggled lightly and placed the cat back on the floor, petting its back before plopping her bag by the door. She smiled to herself after realizing she had no homework for the night.

A sudden bang of mismatched piano keys boomed through the house, making Maka jump and run to the source. She found Blair walking over the ivory and black keys, making new teeth-gritting sounds. She walked over to the large instrument and picked up her pet so the sound would stop. She sat down on the leather piano seat with her cat on her lap. She'd never truly played a tune on the piano, and now that her school hours allowed her to come home earlier than her mother, the piano lured her to play, even if what she played sounded horrible.

Her fingers gently brushed over the keys, but they did not press any down. Her cat had grown silent, following her hand with a concentrated gaze. They were both in a trance as Maka contemplated which key to press down first. Taking in a deep breath, she pressed one down.

G…

The note was cut off by a ringing sound coming from the living room. Immediately, Maka brought down the lid that covered the keys and stood up to pick up the phone. Her cat mewed softly, circling her owner's feet as she raised the phone to her ear.

"Albarn Residence." She said politely through the receiver, just as her father had always instructed her to do.

"Maka…?" A quiet voice answered on the other line. Maka's face automatically lit up.

"Crona! Long time, no speak!" she cheered, walking into her room and lying down on her bed, "How was your first day?"

"Oh… Um, my school doesn't start until next week, Maka. I called to ask how your day was…" the fragile voice mumbled.

"You're so lucky! I wish this school started next week…"

"Why, did something bad happen?" Crona's voice was immediately concerned. Maka could almost see the purple-haired girl go stiff.

"Oh, n-no… well, kind of. But I'm okay." she assured, "Though I kind of miss private school. Do you know how messy and vulgar public schools are? Ugh! It's like a pig sty!" Maka made a face with her statement, though she knew Crona couldn't see it.

"Yeah, Ragnarok told me about them when he had to go to one for a year…" Ragnarok was Crona's older brother. He was a senior this year, so he'd be graduating next summer. Maka knew him from her many visits to her home. Her older brother loved to tease Crona, though he was nice at times. "So what happened today?"

"Well, a lot of things. I made five friends, but they're all rather strange. One of them is obsessed with symmetry. I swear, he thinks I'm a god." she giggled, Crona joining in nervously.

"That sounds funny. Was anyone mean to you, though?" she'd immediately changed the subject. Crona was a very concerned person, and it made Maka proud to have such a caring friend.

"Well, some guys in my Math class started throwing paper balls at my head, and then one of them pulled my hair. And then I bumped into some buff senior guy in the hallways. He was a little too pissed about it…"

"Wh-what? Maka, are you sure you're fine? What happened?" Maka could hear the distress in her best friend's wavering voice.

"Of course I'm fine! Though I probably wouldn't be if it weren't for someone else.

"There's this one really weird guy…"

**A/N: **You guys are probably wondering why the hell Soul is so OOC. Yes, he'll be like this for pretty much the whole fanfic, and you will find out why, but in a later chapter. And I mean WAY later xDDD;

If you know whom Maka's Music teacher is supposed to be, you get a cookie.

Just to clear one thing up, in my school the freshman are called 'niners'. Just 'cause it's easier to say xD;

So was it okay? Are you excited to see what happens with Soul in the next chapter? 'Cause I'm excited to write it. *already started writing chapter 4* x3

As always, I love reviews! Even bad ones, guys. Not flames, but constructive criticism will always be accepted. If you want to help with the story and my writing in some way, I won't mind hearing your opinion! So review~~~ 3

**PS:** Holy cow! 22 reviews for 2 chapters!? That's crazy! Waking up and checking my e-mail to see so many people have reviewed really brought a smile to my face. I was planning on finishing this tomorrow, but seeing as how so many people are enjoying it, I wanted to get this chapter up as soon as I could. Thank you!


	4. Different

**A/N: **BAH. I'm so sorry for the late update! I told a lot of reviewers that I would have the next chapter up by yesterday evening, but I forgot that I was going to a friend's house to watch a few movies… I tried finishing the chapter yesterday, but I was kicked off the computer, seeing as my mom wanted to sleep, and the computer is in her room…

Thanks to all the reviewers, by the way! I wasn't expecting over 30 reviews after the first day of submitting the third chapter, but I checked my inbox the next day, and I was amazed. I didn't think this fanfic would get so popular! Thank you 333

Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter, despite the late update. Sorry, once again D;

**Disclaimer: **I don't have any witty/retarded disclaimers today, so plain and simple: I don't own Soul Eater… Hey, wait… Chuck Norris? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY KITCHEN?!

0oooooooooooooooooooo0

"He did what!?"

Maka cringed and slouched at the cafeteria table as the blue-haired boy screeched. A few people around then turned their heads, but quickly went back to what they were doing. Apparently he was known for these antics.

As Maka looked around the table, she noticed that everyone was gawking at her, their mouths hanging open in awe. "J-Just what I said…" the blonde stuttered, "H-He helped me…"

"Maka, do you not realize that this could be history in the making? It's _Soul. The guy that avoids everyone. _He's never done this for anybody!" Black Star raised his arms in the air to express his vital point.

"W-well, maybe he's just shy…" Maka remarked, though her point wasn't taken across very well because of her feeble voice.

"Shy!? The guy _stares _at every new face he sees!" he shot back, and with a loud sigh, he sat back in his chair limply.

"It doesn't make sense… why would he help someone he doesn't know…?" Kidd added as he placed a hand on his chin.

"Um… He sits next to me in Math class. He helped me there, too, when some guys sitting behind me pulled my hair."

"He helped you twice!?" They all yelled out in unison. Maka leaned back a bit from the volume of their shocked outburst. Blinking a few times, she nodded stiffly. She saw Kidd grimace.

"Damn that guy and his unsymmetrical hair…" the OCD teenager hissed, "I bet he's mocking me. He's going to brainwash you into becoming unsymmetrical. See, it's already happening!" He gestured to her clothing angrily, his eye twitching at the sight. She wore a blue pair of jeans that day, along with a baggy hoodie. What made it unsymmetrical was the squiggly design on only one side of the saggy sweater. "Damn him…" he fizzed between gritted teeth. He began muttering curses and threats underneath his breath. This was nothing compared to how he'd erupted in English class that morning. As soon as he'd seen her, he'd jumped out of his seat and yelled at the top of his lungs. Thank god no one else had been in the room.

The rest of the group ignored the manic boy, turning to Maka with interested eyes. "So, did anything else happen?" Patty inquired. The giddy teen's mouth suddenly shaped an 'O' as she gasped enthusiastically. "Did he _talk _to you?" The rest of the group's eyes went wide, all of them moving in closer with interest. Maka shrunk in her seat.

"No, h-he didn't…" she stuttered. All of them frowned, a few 'damn's escaping the students' mouths. The bell rang just then. The groups around them immediately stood, making Maka feel trapped.

"Tell us if anything happens in Math class tomorrow." Liz ordered, and with a small smile, she turned and walked into the crowd that had formed at the cafeteria doors. Everyone dispersed except for Kidd, who still had his head down on the table, brooding about symmetry.

Maka hoped he wouldn't forget about class.

---Smile---

The blonde had many things running through her mind as she stood by a locker near room 207. The thoughts of lunch and yesterday's events still clogged her mind, but one question plagued her now.

Why the hell was she hiding from her Math classroom?

She still loved math, despite the boy that sat next to her; he hadn't done anything to hate her either. Judging by yesterday's encounters, it was quite the opposite. Maybe it was because she was afraid of what the other students in her class would think. They sat together, so it was likely that they would stare or tease them. That was, unless her seat partner scared them away with his crimson glare. So maybe it wasn't so much about the other students.

Maybe it was about the appreciation she wanted to show her mute classmate. She felt awkward about it, saying thank you to someone who wouldn't say anything back, like a 'no problem' or even a 'whatever'. He probably wouldn't even bother looking at her. She would feel as though she was talking to a ghost.

Maka shook her head fiercely, gaining a few glances her way. _Stop being stupid. I'm fighting with myself over something pointless. _Taking in a deep breath, she tucked her thumbs behind her bag straps and walked confidently into the classroom she'd been dreading.

To her surprise, no one sat in the classroom. The teacher wasn't there, and neither were there students. Except for a certain person scribbling on a sheet of paper quietly at his desk. Taking in a sharp breath, she marched into the room and approached the lone student as confidently as she could. He hadn't even glanced at her as she sat in the seat adjacent to him.

As she unpacked her bag, she noticed the teenager's mouth twitch. Suddenly, he ripped out the sheet of paper he'd been writing on, crumpling it in his hand before stuffing it in his pocket. The blonde's eyebrow raised in curiosity as he began writing again on a new sheet. She quickly waved her inquisitiveness away, instead deciding to look through her notes. Her eyes couldn't help but glance at him every few moments, but he acted as if she didn't exist. With exasperation, she coughed into her hand, but still he wrote on his sheet of paper as if she were a wisp of wind. The distraught teenager frowned at her books. It felt too quiet. With a deep breath, Maka spoke.

"Um… th-thanks for yesterday…" she mumbled in a strangled tone. No response. Maka waited a moment before continuing.

"Ah… E-Evans, was it…?" she inquired. The teen didn't expect the reaction that followed.

With rapid movements, the voiceless student closed his binder and twisted his head to look at her. Maka sat unmoving despite the sudden response to her words. Her gaze met his, and she didn't look away.

It was the same glare he'd given the senior the other day in the hall, but now she was facing it full on. He was directing it to _her _now.

But even then, as he gave her that fierce look that told her to look away, she saw the slightest waver of emotion. She doubted anyone else had seen it, but she could. If you got past that vicious gaze, you could see whom he truly was. There was the same sadness and pain she'd seen in the hallway the day before, but today, it seemed to be… more distinct.

Maka hadn't even realized what happened next. Her caring instinct took over, and only seconds after they'd met eye contact, her expression became concerned, and the question tumbled out of her mouth like word vomit. "What's wrong?"

The boy recoiled slightly. He blinked, and immediately his look changed from vicious to nervous. He looked away quickly, staring down at his closed binder with tensed shoulders. Immediately after realizing what she'd said, she covered her mouth with her hand. She really _had _said something wrong. She didn't even ask _if _something was bothering him. The blonde had just assumed…

"Oh! S-sorry!" Maka sputtered. She felt like Crona the first day they'd met in first grade, in the large sandbox that everyone played in. She still remembered how nervous she was after Maka had erased the tiny circle that the purple-haired girl had sat in. But now that she thought about it, the student sitting next to her probably felt the same.

The blonde leaned forward slightly in her chair, her eyebrows furrowed in caution. "E-Evans…?"

That was the moment when she'd made high school history. At least, this school's history.

"It's just Soul."

Maka was taken aback by his voice. She hadn't imagined it to be so deep and gruff. Then again, he wasn't used to speaking to another student. Even now, he was visibly shaking, his fists clenched as he tried to suppress his nervousness. Maka couldn't help but smile gently, despite the terror he was probably going through right now.

"Soul… okay." she beamed. The second bell rang just then, Ms. Azusa walking in with a frown to realize that all but two of her students were late.

"Good thing to know that at least _some _students care…" the teacher grumbled with a quick adjustment of her glasses. "Alright! Let's take attendance!"

---Smile---

Soul couldn't move. He could hardly think. What the hell had just happened?

Had this girl… just asked him what was wrong?

In the past six years, very few people had actually approached him and tried to talk to him, but even then, they'd left him alone as soon as he'd looked at them. There was this one boy in grade 7 who'd walked over to him in the cafeteria-Black Star, he believed-who had his eyes closed and a smile plastered on his face with glee. That time, he'd had to actually walk away, seeing as the blue-haired boy couldn't see his gaze.

But even then, no one had stared right back at him as he glared. _No one. _They'd all just looked away in fear.

But here was this one girl, feeble and shy, who'd stared back. Stared as if he'd been giving her a normal look. And to top it all off, she'd seen _through _his glare. She'd asked him what was wrong, even though he was sure he was hiding it. This girl… she was… what was the word he was looking for…?

Different.

**A/N: **Yeah, I know it's rather short. I didn't want to add anything further, because I have some plans for the next chapter. I'll try and make the next one longer to make up for this one D;

By the way, there may be a slight time skip in the next one. If not in the next one, there will definitely be on in the chapter after that xDD;

Anyway, hope this chapter was alright for you guys~ I'll try and update as soon as I can (Maybe by this weekend. I have three days off, but I have plans with some of my buddies, so I'm not sure ;0; )

I'd say review, but I've already gotten so many, so I won't force you by telling you to 3


	5. Trust

**A/N: **YES! Okay, so this update is slightly earlier than I specified to most reviewers (I said Saturday evening, but it's morning xD), so I'm rather proud of that. But to those who were used to me updating almost daily, expect me to update like, once a week from now on. I know, it sucks, but school started up again, so I'm going to have homework and stuff to work on. Damn school D:

This is random, but I'm going to a convention in March. It's a really small one, called TorontoCon (YAY CANADA), so if anyone is going, please send me a message or leave a comment… or when you go there, look for a Maka cosplayer. With a Soul cosplayer. My friend is awesome and offered to cosplay him because I'm going to be Maka. We went to the mall on Thursday, and we bought all the clothing for it (We're using his second outfit, the leather jacket/orange shirt one), and we ordered a wig online the same day. It's going to be awesome (By the way, we're going to Anime North on the Saturday as them as well, soya) xD

ANYWAY, enough of my babbling and on with the story! Hope you enjoy~

**Disclaimer: **My Joker Bobble Head came to life and took Chuck Norris hostage. He gave us Soul Eater, but them Joker ran off with it, so no. I still don't own Soul Eater D:

0oooooooooooooooooooo0

A small cough beside her snapped the blonde from her concentration. The teacher had continued with the lesson about polynomials despite the small amount of students present. As she'd scrawled the lecture on the board and explained, students walked in, either laughing or looking sheepish about being late. By the time the teacher had written the work to be done, seven students had taken their seats. The classroom was flooded with sounds of laughter and shouting as soon as the teacher had sat at her desk.

In spite of the deafening sounds of the teenagers surrounding them, Maka was able to hear the tiny cough that came from her seat partner. Her head snapped around quickly to blink at the white haired boy who stared down at his work. Her eyebrows knit together as she realized his pencil wasn't moving.

"Ah… do you need some help…?" she offered quietly. His eyes glanced at her for a second before returning to his work. She saw his mouth twitch like it had at the beginning of class; she assumed it was his sign for frustration. They sat there for a few minutes as he pondered his decision. Maka knew he was still nervous about communicating with other. She still thought that his words from earlier were a fluke.

The blonde blinked as he leaned back and pushed his binder slightly towards her. She glanced at the binder momentarily, looking at the teen's wide-eyed expression before scanning over his paper with interest.

She raised an eyebrow at what she saw. The review questions that Ms. Azusa had assigned them to do first had already been finished, yet he hadn't started the rest. A simple "1" had been written in the margin, but the lines next to it were blank.

Maka's eyes scanned over the textbook and recited the question in her mind. "_2x=10, solve for x." _She grinned happily as the answer already ran through her mind.

"Okay, so to solve for x, you need to isolate it by getting it by itself." Maka explained, pointed to her textbook with her pencil, drawing a faint line from the two to the ten. "To get the two on the other side, we need to use the opposite sign for multiplication, which would be division. So when you bring the two to the other side, you need to divide the ten by the two. And the answer for that is…?" she looked over at him after her explanation to see him staring at her instead of the paper.

He coughed lightly again. "F-five." He mumbled out, low enough so as no one else could hear. She smiled and nodded, pushing his binder back to him and erasing the line she'd drawn in her textbook. Sure, the book was vandalized enough already, but it didn't mean she had to make it worse.

Five minutes passed before her seat partner began writing again. He didn't ask her any more questions during the whole period, though Maka wasn't surprised. She came to the conclusion that he just needed clarification to see if he was doing it right, and with that, she left him alone about it.

She'd wracked his nerves around enough for one day.

---Smile---

She was right.

She hadn't faltered or given him a wrong answer. She'd been absolutely accurate about the answer. He'd known this whole time.

He knew she'd ask if he wanted help, and he accepted. Soul hadn't even glanced at his binder as she explained what to do. He'd stared at her as she'd explained, wide-eyed and astonished.

Now, as he quickly wrote down the answers to the rest of the questions, he decided that maybe, just maybe, he could trust her.

He packed his things a few minutes early, his eyes glancing from the clock to the blonde girl sitting next to him. He fidgeted with the material of his pants as he tried to form words. It still bothered him and made him nervous to speak. He opened his mouth, but all that came out was a gust of air.

It surprised him when she turned and gave him a quizzical look. "Did you say something…?" she mumbled in confusion. He blinked and glanced from left to right a few times before making eye contact with her again. It was odd. He found that he could only speak if she had first.

"Ah… um… th-thanks." He sputtered, his hands starting to shake involuntarily. That's when she did the strangest thing.

The corners of her mouth curled up to create a slight crescent shape. It was almost as if her face became… brighter.

"Of course! No problem." the blonde teen replied with glee. The bell rang, but Soul sat frozen where he was. She did that strange thing with her mouth again, and then she waved, walking out the door with a bounce in her step.

He waved lazily at the empty doorway, realizing he didn't even know her name.

---Smile---

It was lunch the next day, and Maka was getting a sense of dejavu. She'd shrunk into her seat again, the eyes of her friends drilling into her skull from the news. Patty's mouth shaped an 'O' like it had yesterday, a few others mimicking her reaction.

"Holy crap, Maka! You're like, the Chosen One!" An excited Black Star awed as he stood in his chair with his arms raised. I few students looked their way, realizing who it was before rolling their eyes and turning back to their table.

This wasn't the first time they'd gotten looks this lunch period. As soon as Maka had walked into the cafeteria, all eyes were on her. She felt her face burn with blush from all the attention. For a second, she'd thought there was something on her face, but something like that wouldn't attract everyone's gaze. That's when realization hit her, and she ducked into the crowd of her friends. Someone had overheard the small exchange of words she'd had with a certain white-haired freshman, so of course that person would have told someone. Still, it shocked Maka to see how quickly word spread in high school.

The attention had slowly dissipated, and once enough people had looked away, her friends became curious. This situation was the outcome of her story.

"The Chosen One…?" Maka repeated.

"No one has been able to talk to him for six years, and yet you've been able to get five words out of him plus a few stutters in two days! _Two days!!" _Black Star cheered happily, plopping back down in his seat. Maka cringed in fear that he would break the chair.

"Well, I don't know why he's only talked to me! It's not like I can just ask him out of the blue! He'd probably stop talking to me if I asked so suddenly…" Maka mumbled with frustration.

"Ah, that's true…" She heard Kidd mumble across the table. Suddenly, he lifted his head from his hand with an excited expression. "Oh! If you're able to befriend him, tell him to change his hair! Make it _symmetrical._" Maka stared at him with furrowed brows.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm not ever going to hang out with that disaster! It's just… ugh!" Kidd grimaced to express his displeasure.

"But… my hair isn't symmetrical…" Black Star pointed out. Kidd blinked at him. Five minutes must have passed before he shrugged.

"I've gotten used to your grotesque hair." he replied with a careless wave.

"So if I came to school with a side-ponytail one day, you wouldn't mind?" Maka teased. Kidd bolted out of his seat and grabbed her shoulders before she had time to process what was happening.

"No! You're hair is too balanced to do such a horrible thing like that!" he protested, holding her pigtails gently in his hands, as if he was trying to show what he saw. Maka just giggled at the distress in his eyes. She wasn't sure if he knew that his obsession was hilarious.

The bell rang just then, and everyone stood as though their conversations hadn't happened. The group waved goodbye to each other as they went their separate ways, taking the closest door out of the cafeteria that led to their classes. Maka couldn't help but feel excited to get to Math class because of yesterday's events. Her emotions were totally reversed from yesterday, when she'd felt out of place and nervous. Knowing that her seat partner had a voice made her feel a lot better.

As she stepped into room 207, she noticed that the classroom was not as empty as it had been before. A few students sat in their desks either spacing out or talking to the person next to them. Maka smiled gently when she saw the familiar face sitting at his desk, scribbling on a sheet of paper like he'd done the day before. She didn't even realize when everyone turned their heads to watch her as she walked in.

"Hey, Soul." She mumbled quietly with a small wave. She waited for a reaction, but there was none. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Soul…?" she asked quietly, gently placing a finger on his shoulder. She retracted from the sudden twist of his head, his eyes wide from her touch. His hands were shaking again, but soon they calmed down, and his eyes drooped to their normal fiery gaze.

"H-Hi." he replied ever so quietly, returning to his paper as if nothing had happened. Maka couldn't hear the whispers that erupted around them. She was too focused on the boy that sat in front of her, a smile across her face.

---Smile---

The week went on in the same pace as it had the first two days; her new friends asking for a full vocabulary list of what Soul said; students looking at and talking about her; and of course, her seat partner steadily growing more comfortable with talking. Though, he didn't talk with anyone else, and he still hardly spoke any words. Every sentence would be a maximum of three words. He still shook slightly when he spoke.

Maka couldn't help but feel happy about the day's events as she walked through the empty halls at the end of the school day. Mr. West. Had let the class out early due to a small quiz that they'd had. After the quiz, he'd had nothing to teach, so they were permitted to leave.

Lost in her thoughts, Maka didn't see the small group of freshman girls approaching her.

"Hey, Pigtails." The bleach blonde one asked. She looked up at the echoing voice through the hallway. The group of girls smirked at her response.

"Yeah, we're talking about you." another one hissed as she grabbed Maka's shoulder. She stared at the group with wide eyes, still confused as to what they wanted. "We wanted to have a little… chat." the girl smirked.

"So… what's your secret?" Maka wasn't sure which girl's voice it was, seeing as she was still staring at the one grabbing her shoulder.

"Secret…? What secret…?" she replied innocently. She wasn't sure that she even held a secret.

"Don't play stupid! How did you get Soul Eater to talk?" The bleach blonde hissed angrily. They all moved a few inches closer in anticipation. Maka just blinked.

"Well… I don't know. There's no secret to make him talk. He just… did."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" the girl in front of her growled, slamming her against a locker. Maka grimaced slightly.

"I-I'm not! Why do you care so much, anyway!?" Maka shot back.

"Because we want to know how some flat shit like you was able t…" her words were cut off just then. Her eyes were no longer on the cowering blonde in front of her. Instead, they were set on the white-haired figure that had appeared out of nowhere. Maka stared as well. It seemed like he was always there whenever she was in trouble, no matter the time.

All of the girls in the group looked horrified as they stared back at his vicious gaze. It only took a few seconds, and they were gone, walking quickly down the hall with their heads ducked and looking at the floor. Maka watched in awe as they all sped off. When they turned the corner, Maka looked to the white-haired boy. She was surprised to see him still standing there. He'd been watching them run off as well.

"Ah… thanks, again." Maka muttered. He looked at her finally, and to her surprise, his gaze wasn't that fiery one he always used. It was calmer… tired, maybe?

"Yeah." he sighed back, and without another word, he walked the opposite way, as if nothing had happened.

Maka watched as he walked away, her mind still set on what the girls had said. The question plagued her now, but she knew if she asked him, he'd probably stop talking to her altogether. Still, she couldn't help but wonder.

Why did he speak to her?

**A/N: **Okay, wow. I wasn't planning like, any of this for this chapter. These ideas popped into my head WHILE I was writing, and before I knew it, BOOM. Five pages of random ideas. xD; Well, I hope you enjoyed it, anyway. And maybe now you understand the meaning of the fanfic's title ;3 (Sorry for any typos or anything, by the way…)

And again, really sorry, guys. Don't expect another chapter for like a week. D:

**PS: **Thanks so much to everyone for the reviews! There are almost 60, which is just awesome for only 4 chapters. I'm so flattered, thank you guys so much! 3333


	6. Lunch

**A/N: **OHGAWSH. I'm so sorry for the late update! SO SO SO SO SO (I could keep going) SORRY. School's held me up, along with a bunch of other things, like family and a lot of Writer's Block. I know I promised LAST Saturday, but it's been two weeks and… BAH. I'm horrible. I hope you enjoy the chapter anyway, despite the late update ;-;

And thank you so much to all the reviewers! I'm glad so many people are enjoying this fanfic!

Sorry for any typos. I'll fix them all tomorrow!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Soul Eater.

The wind bit and nipped at Maka's exposed skin, a thin cloud of fog whisping from her mouth every time she breathed. The weather was frighteningly cold for the middle of September; a small layer of frost covered the grass that surrounded the school grounds, hardly any students staying outside very long after getting off of their buses.

The weekend had passed by in a daze. She'd been home alone most of Saturday and Sunday. Her parents had recently started working longer hours at work, but they hadn't told her why. She'd sat around the house, trying to occupy her mind with anything she could find; The TV, her books (though she'd read all of what she had), the computer… she frowned as she realized she hadn't even touched the pitch-black piano over the weekend.

She'd phoned Crona the other day after realizing she'd start school this week. Maka just hoped she'd dressed warm enough for this sudden blast of frigid air.

The blonde could already feel her nose start to plug from the short exposure to the cold. As she entered the school building, she was met with a gust of warm air. She sighed lightly from the relief, unzipping her light jacket and adjusting her school bag that had previously been slung on one shoulder.

It was a new week, and Maka, like everyone else, was not in the mood for notes and homework. She could still feel her eyes drooping. Each person that passed by looked like a multi-colored blob.

Though, there was a certain white blob passing by that made her eyes light up. She smiled gently at the red-eyed freshman, waving lightly when she saw his eyes turn to her. She realized her mistake when he blinked at her and turned down the nearest hallway. Her smile drooped into a frown, and with a sigh, she hung her head and sped her pace. Of course. What was she thinking?

He wouldn't wave back.

---Smile---

The thoughts of that morning and her drowsiness kept Maka from paying attention for the first half of the day. She'd faintly remembered Kidd freaking out about her clothing and disheveled hair while the teacher introduced their first novel study, 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. She recalled looking at her desk at the end of the period and wondering how the novel had appeared on her desk.

She didn't want to talk about PE, or ever enter the gym again. She remembered Sid explaining a sport called Basketball, and when she'd raised her hand and asked what it was, everyone had just laughed. She still didn't know what it was.

"Maaakkaaaaaa…" she heard someone call in the distance with a soothing voice. She didn't bother to lift her head. A faint, beige-colored blur passed over her face, but she took no notice. Suddenly, someone grabbed her ear.

"MAKA!"

"Eep!" she squeaked out loudly as she jumped from her cafeteria chair. All she could hear from her right ear was a loud ringing sound. She shook her head in attempt to make it disappear. It didn't. "What the hell was that for!?" she cried.

"You were falling asleep on the table!" The assaulter protested, pointing a finger in her direction. She scowled at the blue-haired boy in response. "Besides," he continued, "I would have left you there, but the bell's going to ring soon, and… one of your pigtails ended up in a small bit of mustard." He stated matter-of-factly. His guffaws unexpectedly rang out in the cafeteria as Maka checked her hair in horror. Sure enough, she found a huge yellow splotch covering her blonde strands. She grimaced at the sight, standing up and making her way out of the cafeteria and towards the washroom.

"After you clean that, make sure your hair is symmetrical!" she heard a certain OCD teen shout, but she ignored it, pushing the doors open and walking out.

Was there something wrong with her? Sure, she'd been tired on Mondays at her old school, but not to the point that she was falling asleep in mustard.

The blonde spent about five minutes in the bathroom, thoroughly washing out the mustard from her hair and keeping it under the blow dryer until it was a bit less than damp. After, she found herself standing in the mirror, picking off any specks and straightening any loose hairs so that she wasn't asymmetrical. She grimaced after realizing what she was doing. Maybe Kidd really _was _rubbing off on her…

She exited the bathroom with lingering frustration, absently twirling her wet pigtail with her finger as she tried to focus her eyes. Everything was still slightly blurry, even from the loud scream in her ear that Black Star had happily delivered.

The blonde turned suddenly after hearing the crumpling of paper. She could have sworn no one had been in the hall a second ago… maybe her blurred vision was to blame.

She blinked after realizing who it was. Sitting against a locker with a clipboard in his lap was the familiar white-haired freshman that she'd seen that morning. He was crumpling a piece of paper in his hand, his mouth twitching in frustration as he set it down in a small pile of other crumpled papers. Maka furrowed her brow, turning and walking towards him.

"Soul…?" she mumbled. She was surprised when he'd immediately looked up, a sense of shock behind his calm expression. She found it strange that he didn't have his usual glare. "What are you doing?" she asked simply. He merely blinked at her before looking back down at his clipboard. He hadn't done anything that told her she should leave, so she smiled lightly and sat down next to him. She didn't prod him about what he was doing, as it was obvious he didn't want to share.

"Did you eat out here…?" she inquired with a slightly soothing voice. He nodded lightly while scribbling on his sheet of paper again. She giggled softly. "Too crowded, right?" he glanced at her with a strange look for a split second, but returned to his clipboard as if she'd said nothing. Maka furrowed her brows again. That glance he'd given her… he looked… curious? Or was she mistaken?

"Why don't you talk to anyone?" The question came out of her without a second's thought, and she immediately regretted it, slapping a hand over her mouth. His gaze went from calm to wide-eyed. She couldn't tell if he felt offended by the question or if he was just shocked by the bluntness. "So-"

"I don't trust them." He cut her off before she could apologize, turning back to his clipboard. This time, he was the one the one to shock _her. _He acted as if she'd asked a simple question; something casual, like 'how are you?'. But his response brought another question to mind. She waited a minute or so, not sure if she should ask, in fear that he would ignore her like everyone else.

"… But… you trust me…?" she whispered ever so quietly. If she'd said it any quieter, her words would simply be air.

To her dismay, the pencil in his hand stopped. His body sat frozen, but his gaze did not change. It was calm, but she could see behind them; he was contemplating whether he should speak. Without looking, he ducked his head slightly, scrawling on the clipboard more furiously than before.

"You're… different." He mumbled, and a wave of emotion shivered through Maka's spine. They were two simple words, but they meant the world to her.

_He trusted her._

If it were someone, _anyone _else, those words would have meant almost nothing. But now it was coming from a person who hadn't spoken for six years, and she was the first to hear his voice. It hadn't taken very long, either. In the second day that he'd ever seen her, he'd spoken to her. Words that some had been trying to hear for six years.

For some reason, he thought she was different from everyone else. Someone he could trust for the first time in so long.

Maka was speechless. All she could do was gawk and reply with an 'Oh'. He glanced at her once, but quickly looked away, sinking his head even lower, as if in embarrassment. She chuckled lightly at his reaction.

"What's your name?" Maka was taken aback once again, and once she processed the question, she smiled. He didn't even know her name.

"It's Maka."

---Smile---

"Maka…"

The name rolled off his tongue without his thinking. His mind was clogged with questions and curiosity to the point that he didn't realize that he'd muttered the word.

It had been a week since school started, and already so many things had changed.

Because of her.

His whole perspective of life had changed. Whenever he walked through the halls of school, the students surrounding him would hardly be noticed by him; they all looked like ghosts through his eyes. All the voices he heard were muffled or not heard at all. It was only when he didn't know someone that he saw or heard them clearly. It'd be as if they were the only person that truly existed, but as soon as they looked away, they disappeared as well. He refused their existence.

But then this girl came along. He'd seen her on the bus and stared at her, waiting for her to disappear like the others. She'd given him a quick glance and looked back at her phone, but for some reason…

She was still there.

He'd sat behind her that day, staring at the back of her head, willing her to vanish, but nothing happened. He didn't know what to do.

He saw her at school, as well. She'd seen her walking in the hallway. He'd stared at her again, and this time, she'd done the same thing back.

She hadn't looked away. He'd become interested and worried at the same time. He could see her clearly. He could hear her clearly. She wasn't afraid.

When he'd found out she was in his math class, he'd come late on purpose to avoid her. He was afraid of what was happening, even if it didn't show. He wasn't sure what to do. Maybe, if he stayed away long enough, she'd disappear. He hoped… he _prayed _it was true.

His blood ran cold as soon as he walked through the door. She was there, sitting alone and reading a book, her eyes wide with tension. The muffled gibberish that he heard around the room immediately stopped as he took a textbook and walked over to the empty desk. He'd regretted coming late then, realizing that because of it, he hadn't had a choice of where to sit.

He'd found it hard to concentrate on the work that had been assigned through class, as the girl beside him kept flinching for some odd reason. It startled him slightly when she'd shrieked. He turned slightly to stare at her, but she seemed unfazed. Except for her shaking hands. He turned to look back at the desks behind him.

He saw them. As clear as day they sat their, suddenly shell-shocked from his gaze. As soon as they looked away, their forms became ghostly again. And he found that he could not focus his eyes correctly to properly see them. Looking back at his work, his mouth twitched with frustration.

He saw her in the hallways once again, but this time, someone was holding her hair. The hulking figure that was the football quarterback did not make him hesitate. He'd reflexively grabbed the senior's arm, and only moments later, he'd disappeared as well. He hadn't bothered looking back at the blonde freshman after the event was over. He hadn't wanted to. He was confused.

Not only could he see her, but also the people hurting her. It pained him to see someone hurting another. He'd never noticed pain on school grounds before.

And then there was the bus ride home. It was one of the most terrifying experiences in almost six years. Someone touched him without his permission.

It was almost like the teen had sent a jolt through the place he'd touched on his shoulder all the way to his feet. Reflexively, he'd turned around, but he could hardly see the person sitting behind him. He relaxed back into his seat after a moment without another thought. All the muffled sounds had stopped.

The next day passed by with a blur. He could still see her on the bus, though it didn't surprise him as much. He couldn't remember what had happened the rest of that morning as soon as he'd walked into room 207. He was early, and judging by the silence and lack of strange auras, there was no one else there. With a sigh of relief, he sat down in his designated seat, pulling out a large pad of paper and a pencil, beginning to write what he'd been trying to write for half a decade.

G…

His pencil snapped suddenly. With a twitch of his eye, he put the broken one down and pulled out a new one. He began writing once again.

Somehow, he hadn't noticed the girl that had walked in and sat adjacent to him. His lip twitched with frustration when he could not find out what else to write, crumpling the piece of paper and stuffing it in his pocket.

"Um… th-thanks for yesterday…" her voice startled him slightly, but he didn't react, continuing with his personal assignment without so much as a flinch. Another question came to mind: Why was it that he could hear her so clearly? Then it happened.

She uttered his last name.

"E-Evans, was it…?" He looked at her in disbelief, wondering why she'd dared to say that word in his presence. He thought he'd forgotten that name, but he still recognized it as his own. He hated it. The word always brought back the memories of that day…

"What's wrong…?" His mind snapped out if its trance, and, realizing what she'd asked, he turned around. Now he was beginning to wonder if she could read minds.

That was the time that he'd decided that maybe the reason he could see her was because she wasn't like everyone else. He'd been right.

After these thoughts ran through his mind as he sat in the hallway floor, the blonde next to him doing that strange crescent thing with her mouth again, he wondered…

Maybe change was a good thing.

He'd have to ask her one day, what that thing she did with her mouth was, and what that shrill sound that accompanied it was called.

"Maka." He muttered her name again. It was a nice sensation to say the word.

He liked her name.

---Smile---

Maka sighed rather loudly as she slumped in her chair, picking at the bowl of rice in front of her.

"Maka, is something wrong?" A voice mumbled from across the dinner table. It was the first time since school had started that Maka was able to have dinner with her parents. Despite the happy occasion, she felt… down. She was no longer tired as she was before, but she was quite the opposite from happy.

"What? Oh, no, Mama. It's just… it's a Monday…" she mumbled back. Her mother smiled gently before going back to her meal.

"So, how's school so far? You make any friends?" Her father cut the silence after a few minutes. Maka shrugged.

"It's fine. My PE teacher is rather odd, but the others are fine." She smiled at the second question. "I've made a lot of friends, too. There's one kid named… Kidd. He's obsessed with symmetry, which is really funny. They all have their weird sides, though." She explained happily, her mood suddenly rising as she thought of what had happened at lunch today. Both her parents looked at each other with quizzical expressions before smiling and chuckling lightly.

"That's nice to hear. Hey, you know what would be a good idea?" her father asked enthusiastically. Maka raised an eyebrow for him to go on. "Maybe you should invite them over some time, so we get to know them. You've only had Crona over before, so it would be nice to see someone new."

Maka blinked at her parents, absently poking at her rice. She looked up at the ceiling.

"Invite… someone over…"

**A/N: **I feel like I kind of rushed this chapter, but yeah. Lotsa Writer's Block D: And I won't say much 'cause I'm rushing to get this chapter up. So anyway, hope you enjoyed! Reviews are awesome! :3


	7. Music From The Soul

**A/U: **Ohgawrsh I'm going to get beaten for this ;o; *runs from angry mob*

How long has it been since I last updated? Like, 4 months? Ew. I'm disgusted with myself ;---;

I bet there's a lot of you reading this now who thought I'd abandoned this fanfic a long while ago. BUT FEAR NOT. I AM BACK.

This is just me making excuses, but… procrastination plus Writer's Block plus school work plus new obsessions (The World Ends With You game and Full Metal Alchemist) is NOT a good combination DDD:

I'm really sorry to all my reviewers, especially to those I haven't replied to. It's been so long, and yet I get positive reviews all the time. You guys keep me writing, definitely. It means so much that you still have hope in me updating. Thank you! 3

And now I'm sure you want to read the story, so I'll stop babbling and hide behind my shield to keep the angry people out. I hope you enjoy and it meets your expectations. I promise chapter 8 will be LOTS better and longer.

**Disclaimer: **Insert witty disclaimer here. (I don't own Soul Eater)

Four times the sun rose and fell during the week, and still Maka hadn't invited anyone over. By the Friday she'd completely forgotten about the suggestion, continuing with her weekly routine as if the words at the dinner table had never been spoken.

Maka no longer spent the whole lunch period sitting with the strange group that had accepted her the first day. Instead, she lied to them, telling them that she'd offered to help one of her teachers with something during the last twenty minutes of lunch. They'd all eyed her suspiciously for a second, but ultimately accepted it, assuming that, since her grades were high, she was a teacher's pet. Of course, that wasn't what she actually did.

Each day, Maka found Soul sitting in the same spot at lunch, and after the first two days, he seemed to expect her company. She would turn the corner and he'd greet her without looking up from the clipboard he constantly had. Each day he spoke more, responding to her with sentences instead of simple three-word phrases by the end of the week. She grew accustomed to his staring, as well. Each time he did, she'd stare back, smiling gently after a few moments. One thing bothered her, though.

He never smiled. Not once had he so much as twitched his mouth back at her. He'd simply look away after giving her a confused look. It troubled her, but she didn't want to offend him, so she refrained from asking about it.

But now, as she sat in Math class with the white-haired teen sitting next to her, her curiosity kept her from thinking properly.

"Remember that there's a unit test on Monday, class. Don't forget to study." The teacher announced with an echo of groans signaling through the class. Maka blinked steadily as she eyed the clock. It surprised her to see that only five minutes remained before the bell would ring, and with a sigh, she closed her book and began to pack up. _I already know everything, but it wouldn't hurt to study…_

That's when the conversation at the dinner table on Monday rang through her mind. The blonde glanced over at her seat partner, who, now more alert to her, at least, looked back. He blinked with curiosity. "What?" He asked absently. She blinked back, sputtering a few times, trying to find her voice.

"Oh… I was just wondering if… you'd like to come over and study for the test Monday…?" she asked nervously, raising her voice at the end in a question unnecessarily.

That was the first time since Monday that she'd seen panic in his eyes.

She shook her head quickly after seeing his expression. "Forget about it. Pretend I never asked." she sighed in a soothing but gloomy tone, swinging her bag over her shoulder and exiting the classroom just as the bell rang.

Throughout the rest of fourth period and the busride, Maka felt dazed and depressed. She should have expected the answer from her new companion, knowing his nature, but she was only human. Rejection of any sort could make someone unhappy.

But he hadn't rejected. She just hadn't waited for an answer.

He didn't get off on his bus stop.

---Smile---

Maka enjoyed the crisp air of the Fall and the floating of the leaves as the wind picked them from their branches. It was her favorite season of the year. The weather wasn't cold or hot, and the bees and mosquitoes were hiding, getting away from the world as the colder months slowly crept closer. The gentle scent of winter frost floating in the air made Maka smile faintly to herself. She forgot about her worries as she walked up the steps to her awaiting residence.

She suddenly snapped from her strange trance when someone coughed abruptly behind her. She let out a small 'eep', turning around and swinging her bag in the process. The assailant crouched and hid his head under his hands in fear. Maka, slowly calming down from her sudden burst, almost fainted when she realized whom it was.

"S-S-S-S-Soul!?" she sputtered, dropping her bag. The white-haired face of her fellow classmate looked up slowly with caution. His eyes did not show fear, but caution, still unsure whether she'd attack again.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she panicked, stepping closer slightly with her hands in front of herself, not sure what to do. His eyes grew less wary as the moments passed, and slowly he went back into a standing position.

"It's fine." He mumbled. With a sigh of relief, she went to pick up her back. She saw Soul flinch back from the corner of her eye. With a slight grimace of regret, Maka tried opening the front door. It was locked.

They told me they'd be home today… She thought as she took out her house key. As she jingled the key in the lock, she looked at Soul.

"Soul… why'd you follow me home…?" she asked bluntly.

"You asked me to come over."

"But…"

"You never let me answer." Maka was taken aback slightly, even as he looked at her with an almost tired gaze. It had been the first time he'd cut off one of her sentences.

"Oh…" she breathed after a few moments of standing and blinking. Despite feeling guilty for misunderstanding and his sudden interruption, Maka smiled. "Sorry." It was his turn to be surprised. He blinked back at her a few times before looking away, unsure of how to reply. Maka's smile widened slightly, and with a last turn with the key, the door was open.

As Maka walked into her home and turned to wait for Soul to enter, she stopped. He wasn't in the doorframe, or even in her sight, for that matter. With a sigh, she peeked out, looking at the white-haired teen that stood unmoving where he was. She raised an eyebrow curiously, gesturing with her head for him to come inside.

"Well, aren't you coming?" she asked cautiously. Again Maka saw his panicked expression, and she waited for him to relax. It took him a few moments, but his shoulders finally drooped from their tensed position.

"Y-Yeah…" he mumbled, and, every so slowly, he stepped forward and entered her foreign home.

---Smile---

Soul had only ever entered two residences in his lifetime. Both had been his own. Stepping into someone else's home was like stepping into another dimension. He didn't know what it was like or if there was something to be cautious of.

But somehow, he felt… comfortable. The atmosphere was quiet and soothing, but somehow kept an energetic feel to it. It felt as though he'd entered this house countless of times before.

He snapped out of his short trance when a certain blonde erupted with sound beside him. He looked at her in surprise. She was doing that strange thing with her mouth and making that shrill sound again, staring at the floor. Specifically, by his feet.

Soul couldn't help but look down in curiosity, and as soon as he did, he froze. A strange purple animal rubbed against his jeans while making a low purr sound in the back of its throat. He could feel sweat begin to drip from his forehead. He heard Maka make the shrill sound again.

"Don't worry, Soul. It's just my cat. Shoo, Blair, shoo!" she explained while making hand-gestures at the little creature. Cat…?

Soul watched as the little being scampered off into another room, not taking his eyes off of the doorframe even as it left his sight. He'd never really given attention to his surroundings. It was only now that he wondered if there were other such animals people kept in their homes…

He snapped back into reality when Maka started fumbling with her bag on the couch. It didn't take her long to notice discomfort.

"Well? Sit down." she suggested, patting the seat next to her. Despite feeling comfortable in her home, he wasn't sure what to do. He still felt as if this was another dimension, so 'sit down' could have meant anything. A strike of panic flashed through his expression again, but, despite his worry, he stepped forward. The blonde didn't move, waiting patiently where she was for him to come closer. When he didn't move for a few minutes, to test her, she sighed with something like humour in her hinted in her breath.

"Come on, Soul, I won't bite. Trust me." She said, and, though she meant it sarcastically, he took it literally. The last part, at least.

_Trust Me._

Those words were like a trance to him. When someone, or maybe it was just this person, said that phrase, he _wanted _to trust.

Within the moment that she'd said it, he'd walked over to the couch and sat down next to her, placing his bag on the floor. He didn't catch the indication of bewilderment on her face.

"Ah… a-anyway, let's get started on studying…" she mumbled beside him, pulling out a red binder from her bag. Soul didn't make a move for is own, instead intently watching as the girl flipped through her pages with a pencil in hand. "Alright!" she announced enthusiastically, her previous confusion no longer evident in her confident tone, "First question! If x equals four multiplied by the square root of sixty-four, and y equals x divided by sixteen, what is the value of y?" Soul hadn't heard the question. His eyes were simply focused on her face as she studied the test review, the corner of her lips turned upward.

After a few moments of utter silence, she looked up. This time there was no shocked reaction from her when she caught him staring. She simply looked back, as if trying to read what he was thinking, and, as though she found what she was looking for, the girl did that strange thing with her mouth again.

That's when the question he'd been meaning to ask for what seemed like eternity slipped out.

"What is that?"

---Smile---

Maka couldn't comprehend what he'd meant. She couldn't recall doing anything to make him ask the question, and yet there those three words were, hanging in the air with confusion weighing it down. She waited a few more moments for him to explain, but no words escaped his mouth.

"Wh-What do you mean? What's what?" she asked, her voice stuttering.

"That… thing… You do with your mouth." Was his only explanation. It took her about a minute to register what he was saying. As soon as she realized, sorrow filled her heart.

"It's… a smile."

"Smile?"

"Yeah… you do it when you're happy." Her voice was timid, but, despite it, she managed to fake one of her own smiles, as best she could. It was only now that she questioned to herself what Soul's past was truly like. Sure, it must have been something horrible, but… to not know what a smile was… "Can you try it? Think of something happy."

His eyebrows furrowed slightly, as though he were looking for the answer to a hard question. After what seemed like an hour, he tried to smile.

And Maka laughed.

Her sorrow disappeared with the face he made. He was trying with all his effort to do what she had done, to the point that he was straining his face to create a smile half the size of his face. She didn't notice the numerous sharp teeth.

"No, no! You're trying too hard! What were you thinking of, anyway?" Maka grinned at his slightly disappointed face.

"Uh… Rainbows… Flowers… Candy…" and his face was totally and completely serious. She let out a small snort as she shook her head.

"No, Soul… don't think of something that makes_ others _happy. It's what makes _you _happy." She tried clarifying. Surprisingly, something happened. It was only for a split second, but it happened.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward.

They sat silently, as if in shock. All that could be heard was their breathing. Maka broke the silence.

"… What did you think about?" she breathed, almost only a wisp of air. And then he answered, just as quietly.

"You."

A bang of mismatched piano keys filled the house. Without hesitation, Maka went to the piano room, trying to hide her flustered expression from the boy who probably didn't think much of his statement. Why? Why had he automatically thought of her?

"S-Stupid Blair… always making so much noise…" she mumbled, lifting the purple cat into her arms and holding her tightly. "Don't scare me like that!"

The floor creaked at the doorframe suddenly, catching both Maka's and the furry creature's attention. It was Soul, of course. But… he seemed… foreign. There was a sudden aura about him that wasn't familiar to her. It seemed almost strained. It was a mix of foreboding and temptation; a mix of opposites. She moved from the piano slightly, noticing what his gaze was focused on.

"Soul…?" she mumbled, a bit perplexed by his frozen form. Blair struggled in her arms as he started to move forward, her ghostly eyes locked on his face. It seemed like eternity had passed when he finally rested his feet at the front of the piano and his fingers gently caressed the solid white keys. Maka was about to ask if he could play, but she was silenced by the deep sound of the grand instrument.

G…

The first note was almost capturing as his fingers gently swept over the keys. His eyes were closed, and it looked as though he could be pressing random keys for the fun of it, but… a song played at his fingertips.

The song was slow and soothing at first, almost like a lullaby, or more like an awakening; like the start of a sunrise or the first breath of a child. His fingers continued, and slowly the song escalated into a happy song. This portion seemed to have the power to absorb someone's sorrow, like a sunny day. Maka felt a smile creep upon her face for a moment, and then…

Stop.

The last note resonated awkwardly through the air, waiting desperately for something to follow… but nothing did.

Maka focused her eyes on the keys again, and she noticed immediately that Soul was stuck. His hand hovered over the keys anxiously, the last key still pressed down by his index finger. His face was contorted with the thought of the next key, his eyes squinted as tightly as he could manage, desperately searching for the next note in his mind…

But it never came.

His hand relaxed at his side again, a sorrowful expression painting his face like a beautiful canvas sheared straight down the middle. It pained Maka to see it, and without thinking, she spoke.

"Soul, you…" there were no other words. He looked up at her in surprise, as though he'd forgotten she'd been in the room. He looked horror-stricken. Was it that she wasn't supposed to hear? His mouth opened to protest…

The doorbell rang.

Maka, giving him a look of understanding, rushed out of the room, placing an unusually quiet Blair on the floor before answering the door. Almost sure it was her parents, she sighed with annoyance at their lateness and was prepared to complain.

Who she saw froze her into ice. The color drained from her face. Normally this wouldn't happen when she saw this certain person, but…

_Soul was here._

How could she have forgotten her monthly visitor? The lavender-haired girl stood in the front doorway, rubbing her arm while she waited for her only friend to speak. And she did.

"C-Crona…"

**A/U: **DUHNUHNUUUUUUH.

…

Yeah. I know. Not a very dramatic ending BUT. Her visit will means a lot more in the next chapter, and I guarantee you that I have LOTS of stuff planned! The ending of chapter 8 will be a great cliffhanger… I hope xD;;;

So. Yeah. If you're mad at me for the late update, go ahead and rant in a review or something. I deserve iiiit…


	8. Voices In My Head

**A/U: **Holyjeez, another overdue update. I'm so sorry, guys. I hope no one's given up on this fanfic ;-; I'm telling everyone now that, even though updates will sometimes be late, I'll NEVER give up on it. I have almost everything planned out for this fanfiction. The only thing stopping me is lack of inspiration and trying to find a way to write out my ideas. So PLEASE don't give up on me or the fanfic. I swear I won't D:

Speaking of delays, one of the big reasons for not updating the fanfic for a while is because I have been CRAZY obsessed with Final Fantasy VII. I only just recently (End of June) watched FFVII Advent Children, and soon after that I bought Advent Children Complete. And then I proceeded to finish the original game, Crisis Core, and Derge of Ceriberus, and my next cosplay is going to be Cissnei from Crisis Core… Craaazy obsessed. Like, guys, I got more obsessed with FFVII than Soul Eater. That's how crazy it was D:

ANYWAY, to make up for the delay, this chapter is extra long. Seriously, on Word, it's 11 and a half pages or so. Andlawlz, I'm updating this on my 16th birthday. Yaaaaay. XD

So, enjoy, and I'm sorry if the ending parts sound a little rushed, but really wanted to get this up : D; (Also, in my mind this is the deciding chapter for the fanfic. Not the climax or any of that, but the 'evaluation' chapter. There's going to be a major turn of events. So much so that I may just change the theme of this story to Drama/Friendship or Drama/Romance. So beware!)

**Disclaimer: **That dude from The Sopranos made me choose between owning Soul Eater and raping Reno's mullet (FFVII). Sadly, I took the latter choice. ;-; *shot*

0oooooooooooooooooooo0

His heart was beating too loud in his ears for him to hear, and his vision was blurred in a panic, so much so that he could hardly tell when the blonde had left the room.

_She heard it… She HEARD it… SHE HEARD IT._

All he could hear were those three words, repeating themselves frantically in his mind. _No one's supposed to hear it. Nonono… Does she know? Does she?_

Images flashed through his mind right then; images of that day that used to agonize him to no end… he was used to it now.

His heart rate slowly returned to normal and his vision adjusted as he felt the small purple creature place its paw on his foot. He looked down at the little being, once again out of fear, but… something stopped him from moving away.

Those eyes… they were different from what they had been before. The thin slits for pupils were now large and circular, and its previously frantic gaze was now focused on keeping eye contact with him. Its body shook gently as it tried to portray its message through its mesmerizing stare. Emotion filled its form, and he thought he knew what it was…

Sympathy.

The moment was cut short by the words of the blonde outside the room.

"C-Crona?"

Both looked at the open door of the room, the 'cat' scampering off and leaving him in his confusion. There was a moment of silence, and then…

Another voice.

Not muffled, and it definitely wasn't the creature or its owner. No. This was a new voice.

"H-Hey, Maka. You remembered our sleepover plans, right?"

"Oh! Y-Yeah!"

The rest of their words were hushed by the thumping against his skull once again. His thoughts ducked away from reality as it always used to do, in full-out panic of what was to come. _Why? _He cried out in the depths of his conscious, _Why is all of this happening? Why now? _All he wanted to do now was go home and shut himself inside, away from all of the things that threatened to shatter his silent world, already cracked and chipped from the past few weeks.

"Soul?" A voice suddenly echoed through his little reality. He heard the voice come through the small hole in that glass that kept everyone outside. It was open now, but the hole was only just big enough for _her… _and, it seemed, that other voice that beckoned him to see its owner.

Soul let himself sink back into the real world, his feet already moving him out of the room, curiosity controlling them instead of his commands. His vision still hazy from his own reality, he peaked into the living room…

His heart stopped.

There, where his gaze had led him to look, was not one figure, but two, to match both of the voices he'd heard.

"There you are! Soul, uh…" the figure he'd been expecting stuttered, "This… is Crona." And his gaze averted to the other voice's companion.

"H-Hi…" The purple-haired girl stuttered, adjusting her left arm, the hand almost seeming to be glued to her right shoulder. He heard his heartbeat return gently, and… somehow… he wasn't shocked. He was calm as he stared wordlessly at the girl before him, who appeared to cringe at his very presence.

People who feared him tended to turn into the little auras his mind had adjusted to, but not her. And he knew the reason. She wasn't afraid of him, not at all. She was afraid of herself- more specifically, embarrassing herself in the company of someone she didn't know. Soul found comfort in this, and in the fact that this fragile human was the blonde's companion. Somehow, he knew, if he could trust her, even in the slightest bit, he could trust the new face before him.

"Crona… h-hello." His voice cracked, and both teenagers looked up in astonishment. A moment passed before the girl's shyness took over and she hid behind her lilac hair, and the blonde curved her lips upward… 'smiled' at him with approval.

"M-Makaaaa… you didn't tell me you'd have someone else over today… you know I can't handle surprise visits!" Crona mumbled awkwardly behind her locks. The teen in question simply made that shrill sound with her voice, muttering an 'oops' under her breath. "S-so! Soul! Eeeeh… Maka's told me a bit about you. I hear you're very kind…" she stuttered, attempting to start a conversation despite her fears. Soul blinked.

"Kind…?" He breathed back in confusion.

"Yes, kind! You saved Maka from some bullies, didn't you? Y-Your parents must have raised you very well…"

That's when the room became tense. Maka tensed. Soul tensed. Even Blair tensed. Crona didn't feel the atmosphere, and went on into unwanted territory.

"**How's your family, by the way?"**

Soul's heart jumped into his throat at that moment, choking back the scream of horror that Crona had almost brought forth from the reminder. Everything around him tinted into a red hew. He didn't realize that his nails were digging so hard into his palms that they almost bled. Fury and sorrow wrapped around his form without the girls' realizations. _Why… why do they have to ask…?_

"Soul, are you okay?" The phrase immediately snapped Soul from his strange trance, the room turning back to its normal hew, his hands relaxing at his sides. He let his gaze wander over to the blonde's concerned look as her words echoed through his ears. It was strange. All it took was her voice to keep him in check.

"Uh… Y-yeah…" he mumbled. At that moment he found that he could not set his eyes on the lilac-haired teen that stood near the door without everything turning red again. It was as if she'd cursed herself by muttering those words. "I-I have to go. I'm not feeling good." He somewhat lied, hastily grabbing his bag and swinging it over his shoulder.

"B-But Soul!" the blonde stuttered as Soul passed Crona and opened the door. His mind would not allow his feet to move another step forward unless he looked back at her, so he did, but his expression was blank and devoid of emotion. He saw her reach for words, and then sigh in defeat. "I'll see you on Monday…" she muttered in disappointment.

He stood unmoving, despite her goodbye. Something was nipping at his mind… a sense of curiosity that wouldn't go away. "Your cat…" The blonde looked up, blinking, but her frustration was still evident.

"Blair?"

"Yeah… did it… have any previous owners?" he asked nervously. She visibly cringed at the question.

"Y-Yeah. The owner before was nice to her, but apparently beat her one day and left her on the streets in the rain, but she couldn't walk because one of her legs was broken. We found her in an animal shelter when her leg was still healing." The blonde explained without him having to ask. Soul's eyes drooped slightly and he nodded, turning around and heading down the porch stairs, not noticing the black-haired figure that passed him as he did. _So it really was…_

_Sympathy._

---Smile---

"What the hell was up with that guy?" A black-haired teen suddenly walked through the door, placing a bag of what Maka assumed to be Crona's sleepover items on the ground. The blonde didn't hear his silent mumble.

"Eeeeh? I forgot one of my bags? I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Crona panicked as she saw the menacing hand of her older brother rise up to her face.

"Sorry? Really? Tch! Apology not accepted. Form of death: noogie." Ragnarok hissed in a teasing tone as he clamped his arm around his sister's throat and began rubbing her hair rapidly with his fist. She wailed in desperation while Maka giggled, used to the annoyances that came with having a sibling.

The noogie stopped after a few more moments, Crona retreating to a corner of the room and crouching down, her hands placed over her head.

"Eh, I think you overdid it this time, Ragnarok…" Maka mumbled, staring sympathetically at her dear friend. The teen scoffed and gazed over at Maka, blinking a few times before whistling in a flirtatious way.

"Talk about overdoing it… Did you wear this to school today?" he grinned, slightly lifting Maka's plaid skirt. Her hands reflexively pushed his hand away and flattened the skirt again.

"So what? I wear it all the time." She sputtered back in embarrassment. His grin suddenly turned into a scowl of concern.

"I hope you realize that there's a lot of creepers in high school. No one tried a move on you yet?" he asked while cracking the knuckles of one of his fists. Ragnarok could be a little _too _protective when it came to her and Crona.

"N-No!"

"You sure? Not even the guy that just walked out?"

"… If you knew him, you wouldn't have made that suggestion." Her face was blank to emphasize her statement. Ragnarok frowned.

"What was up with him anyway? He looked like he wanted to kill someone. You friends with him?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, we're friends, but trust me, he's not planning on killing anyone. That's just his expression most of the time." Maka shrugged back.

"Really… did he talk to Crona?"

"Oh! Yeah! They got along right away. But then… Crona mentioned something, and he stormed off…" Crona suddenly rushed to Maka's side.

"Did I really say something wrong? Eeeeh, I'm sorryyyyyy…" the lavender-haired girl cried. Before another moment passed, the girl was trapped by the arm of her older brother, her hair ruffling up from another noogie.

As Maka half-mindedly watched the display, her mind drifted to the matter of what had happened only minutes before. _Soul… if you can interact with someone besides me…_

_Can you do that at school, too?_

"… Ragnarok, you _do _realize this can be considered abuse, right?"

---Smile---

What had felt like only a couple days to Maka was actually a couple of weeks. The weather had not changed very much, if at all as the school days went on, and it took her by surprise when Tsubaki told her that they'd be getting mid-term report cards during fourth period.

"What!? So that makes it… November 5th!?" she panicked, attracting a couple people's attention as her words echoed through the gym. She went through the past few weeks in her mind, remembering important events and the like.

She remembered her visits to Soul every day at lunch, and how he began to start conversations instead of waiting for her to speak, and how he seemed calm whenever she mentioned Crona. They were often partnered for group assignments in math class, as well. She recalled the things she learned from all of her other classes, and how packed each subject was compared to elementary school.

"Eeeeh, I completely skipped Halloween…" she grumbled, crouching down just in time for a volleyball to whiz past her face.

"Yeah… we all came to your door and asked where you were, but your mom said you were busy studying for some huge English test." Tsubaki explained with a frown before running off to pick up the ball. Maka sighed and shrugged her shoulders. She didn't need a lot of sweets anyway.

The bell rang only a few moments later, Tsubaki and Maka changing and heading to their lockers through the crowd of students.

"Um… it's not like me to be nosy, but… how's it been with Soul? Has he been talking to you more?" Tsubaki inquired shyly. Maka looked up at her friend with a raised eyebrow. She looked away, and Maka could tell she was holding her breath.

"Did Black Star put you up to this?" She mumbled. Tsubaki let her breath out in a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I don't like saying no. And Black Star is _really _bent on figuring Soul out…" Tsubaki replied in defeat. Maka giggled lightly.

"It's alright." She reassured, averting her gaze from her slouching companion. "He's really coming out of his shell… Soul, that is." was what she offered as an answer to her question. Maka smiled slightly at the thought. "He even talked to someone else… a while ago…"

"Really? Maybe you can invite him over to our table for lunch sometime." Tsubaki suggested. Maka blinked, the idea locking into her brain and not letting go. She'd thought about the idea for a few days after that awkward encounter with Crona, but it slowly slipped from her mind. The nagging feeling she'd felt for the past month was now clogging her head, pushing all other thoughts out.

They stopped at their locker, Kidd and the others already unpacking the books they wouldn't need for their next periods or to take home into the locker next to them. Kidd hardly ever commented on Maka's symmetry anymore. It was only when he was having a horribly 'unbalanced' morning that he would rely on her, if she happened to wear something symmetrical on that particular day.

The usual conversation about classes and weekend plans passed through the group of friends, but Maka did not speak. Her mind was contemplating Tsubaki's words from only minutes before. Just as the lockers closed and the group began to walk off, Maka spoke.

"Hey… guys? I'll meet up with you in the cafeteria in a few minutes, alright? I… need to go do something." she said, trying her best to conceal her intentions. Tsubaki's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Are you going to the bathroom? I'll go with y…"

"No, that's fine!" Maka cut in, waving her hands in defense. "You guys go ahead. I'll be back." With that, she left them, running through the empty hallways with confidence in her steps.

---Smile---

Soul walked, as he normally did, from his second class straight to his regular spot where he ate at lunch. Never had he used a locker for his schoolbooks. He thought such things were useless and untrustworthy. Any person could easily break it open and steal what they wanted, and he had his own bag for such things, anyway.

Watching his feet as he usually did, Soul sat down in the familiar hallway and leaned his back against the wall, pulling out his lunch. He ate quickly each day so that he could pull out his clipboard and work on that before his usual guest came. It had only happened recently, but he found that he would focus more on her than his clipboard when she was around, so it was pointless to keep it out during those last twenty minutes of lunch.

"So you're just going to ignore me?" A voice stopped him before he could take the first bite from his sandwich. He looked up, astonished. There stood the familiar blonde, her arms crossed over her chest as though she'd been waiting for him.

"E-Eh? Did twenty minutes pass already?" he stuttered, looking up and down the hallway in search of a clock. That shrill sound she made echoed softly, grabbing his attention.

"Of course not. Actually, I came here as soon as I put my books in my locker. I was standing here even when you were walking down the hallway, but I guess you didn't notice me at all." She explained with a shrug. Soul's shoulders tensed in embarrassment.

"S-Sorry…" he mumbled, taking a bite from his sandwich. Noticing that the girl hadn't sat down even after he'd swallowed, the white-haired teen continued, looking back up. "Is there a reason you're here early?" he asked innocently. Then, he added while holding back a grimace, "How's Crona doing?"

He never mentioned it to his companion, but he hated mentioning Crona. Her very name made his vision blur red for a moment.

But he bared with it. He noticed that each time she began talking about Crona, or he offered her name, she 'smiled'. The simple gesture made her face light up, and he found comfort in that. Comfort in seeing her 'smile', something he had yet to do.

As predicted, her face lit up. "Oh, she's fine. She came for a sleepover this weekend and told me about school. She's doing great. She's made friends and she's getting good grades … I'm happy for her!" The blonde exclaimed with an enthusiastic gaze.

"Ha… ppy?" Soul breathed quietly. She didn't hear him.

"Oh… Soul? Speaking of friends… some of them were wondering if… you could have lunch with us." Soul immediately shot her a look mixed with despair and anger, but he hid it as soon as she looked his way.

Didn't she know how much he hated humans? How the crack in his reality would only get larger? How he…

"Soul?" her voice snapped him back immediately, the question he wanted ask slipping from his mind as she held her hand out to him in some foreign gesture. "Will you? Please? My friends really want to meet you, and they're really nice.

"Trust me?" Those words echoed through him repeatedly, and like a dog to a master's command, he stood, walking passed her and towards the cafeteria with instinct.

He never took her hand.

---Smile---

The cafeteria was completely silent. Nothing was heard. Nothing was said. Everyone was staring. It was so quiet, in fact, that the chairs squeaking on the floor as Soul and Maka sat down sounded like an earthquake had erupted, the echo reaching the halls.

Surprisingly, Soul was not glaring or looking around at anyone. In fact, he'd had his head down, staring at the floor as Maka'd led him towards her awaiting group of friends.

"What the hell are all of you looking at?" The booming voice of Black Star hollered from the other side of their table. Everyone in the cafeteria immediately turned back to their own groups, chatting away as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, Maka's group was staring intently at both her and Soul, waiting for an explanation. The blonde coughed into her hand and began.

"U-Um, I bumped into Soul in the hallway and thought about how you guys wanted to meet him, so I brought him along. H-Hope you don't mind." She managed to stutter out.

"Well I'm glad he accepted. It's nice to meet you, Soul." Tsubaki smiled politely. With her words, the group seemed to calm down, knowing that being too nosy would make him nervous. Despite this, Maka could tell he wasn't comfortable. The others couldn't see it, but from where she was sitting, she could see Soul's hands trembling in his lap, gripping the material of his pants. Through his hair she noticed his panicked eyes, focused on the lunch table in horror.

"E-Eh, Soul, won't you say hello?" Maka prodded, trying to sound as kind as possible. Soul's hands clenched for a moment before his eyes shifted to her. She gave him the most reassuring smile possible and nodded gently, hoping he'd trust her judgment.

"H-Hello." His voice was cracked and full of fear despite her reassurance, but that simple word was enough to silence the group for a full minute. And then, suddenly, everyone was back to normal, talking as though Soul had been a part of the group since the beginning of the year. They talked with him, asking questions and not minding if he gave them one-word answers or didn't answer at all. Though, Maka could see it. He was still nervous and frightened by her strange friends, even though they accepted him completely.

And then _he_ snapped.

"I can't stand it anymore!" the black-haired teen across the table from Soul exclaimed with fury. "He's so unbalanced! If only his hair were symmetrical, I could deal with it. But… No, I'm styling your hair. Sit still." With that, Kidd sat up with purpose and approached the confused boy across from him. Without warning, he touched Soul's shoulder.

He was gone.

Without a second's delay, Soul had gotten up and stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving a baffled Kidd behind.

"Was… was my tone too unbalanced?" He cried to the others, who were staring at him with intent to kill. Maka shook her head and stood, following Soul into the hallway without a word.

"S-Soul! Soul, wait up!" she cried after turning down a hallway and finding him. He stopped walking at her words, but he didn't turn around. The blonde stopped a few meters away, letting the silence sink in for a moment before continuing. "Why did you leave?"

"… You know I don't like talking to other people." He retorted, keeping his back towards Maka.

"But… you were perfectly fine with Crona, weren't you? You even mentioned her name once in a while. And you're the one that agreed to…"

"Did I say 'yes'?" He cut in rudely. She saw him clench his fist.

"Did you really have to? You got up of your own free will…"

"You don't understand me." She almost couldn't hear his voice, but as soon as she comprehended them, she grit her teeth.

"Understand you…? How the hell am I supposed to if you don't let me in!" she shouted, her voice echoing off the walls. She saw him flinch. "You never tell me anything about your life! You don't let anyone in! If you want someone to understand, say something, you idiot! I've known you for two months now, and yet I don't know anything about you. How the hell am I supposed to know, **Evans**!? How…"

"_Don't __**ever **__call me by that name."_

Maka's heart stopped, her eyes wide as she stared back at the face of the white-haired teen. He was turned towards her now, his nails digging into his fist so hard that his palms bled. But, this isn't what she noticed.

It was his eyes.

His glare was so full of anger that she couldn't move. It held her in place as though they controlled her. Her blood ran cold. It was almost like…

Murder intent.

The bell rang at that moment, students flooding the hall. Their voices snapped her back into reality, but, instead of retorting to him, she ran away. She headed through the halls until she reached the doors that led to the back of the school, pushing them open and heading out into the frigid air.

Tears began to roll down her face as she recalled their conversation just moments ago. No one was outside, so she didn't bother holding back. _I'm so stupid! _She cried mentally, _how could I be so mean to him?_

"S-Stupid weather… I sh-shouldn't have worn this skirt t-today…" Maka sobbed as she desperately tried hugging the folds of her plaid skirt closer to her skin. Even so, she could hardly feel the cold as guilt flooded her emotions, the tears blurring her eyes.

Suddenly, she gasped. Her gasp was silenced by someone's hand enveloping her mouth with force. She tried to protest, but was immediately silenced by her assailant's voice. It was gruff and menacing.

"Don't move, or I swear I'll blow your brains out."

Something cold was pressed against her forehead.

---Smile---

Soul couldn't help but just stand and look down the hallway where Maka had run off. Emotions filled his head as he ran through what had just happened, and he frowned.

He'd seen them, completely clear, sitting at that lunch table. As far as he could tell, they were the only ones in the cafeteria, but he could tell by his companion's nervous expression that it wasn't true. But… why only them? And why would she trust anyone that would touch someone so carelessly like that?

Now this is what it had come down to, and it broke his very being. She was the only person to ever really catch his attention, and he'd threatened her. He'd gotten her angry, and now she was gone. His heart jumped at the thought.

What if she stayed that way? Gone… The very idea that he would be alone again frightened him even more than welcoming others. Now that he'd been able to talk to someone, loneliness seemed like a foreign concept…

He didn't want to go back to that.

"Maka." He mumbled. It had been the first time he'd said, or even _thought _of her name since she'd told him. Now her name felt like his only connection to reality, like a fine string through that single whole in the glass. "Maka!" He began to panic, the string beginning to widen and vibrate. His legs moved without his knowing, and he found that he was running down the hallway that he'd seen Maka disappear from. He didn't care if he was late for class. He didn't care about anything at this point.

He needed to find her.

Within minutes, he found the doorway leading to the back of the school, his heart thumping loud in his head from what felt like adrenaline. "Maka!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

The glass broke from the string.

Suddenly, he heard something. What was it? A voice? It sounded… muffled. It was quiet, and it didn't sound like Maka's. It sounded like… a man's voice. Soul's eyes widened. If… he didn't know who's voice it was, then… it must have belonged to someone who was hurting Maka.

Adrenaline rushed in his veins again as he sprinted down the field, still near the wall of the school. What was seconds seemed like minutes, and after an eternity, he turned the school's corner.

He stopped.

There stood Maka, a man's palm covering her mouth as she stood shaking in his grasp. But, this was not what he first saw. It was the thing that the man was pressing against Maka's face.

A gun.

With blind fury, Soul ran towards them, powered by the very thought that he knew what a gun could do. The man holding Maka spotted him, and, carelessly, pointed the pistol at the white-haired teen. He didn't pay attention to it, running head long towards him. Once he got close enough, he whacked the gun out of his hand, prying the man's hand off of Maka's mouth and lifting him by his collar. Gritting his teeth, he punched him as hard as his strength would allow, the momentum ripping the man's collar out of his other hand and crashing him to the ground.

Soul's breathing was heavy as he stared with anger at the person who dared to kill Maka. With a heavy sigh, he looked over at Maka… and he froze.

Her face was filled with horror, her own hands cupped over her mouth with fresh tears rolling down her face. "S-Soul…" she breathed, unable to move. He furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Ma…" It hit him. Pain rushed through his body with such force that he had to catch himself from falling. The saliva in his mouth tasted… metallic, almost, and his eyes widened as he realized what the source of the pain was. With a shaking, slow hand, Soul reached to press his hand against his chest before lifting it to his face so he could see. He was wordless as he comprehended what the name of the liquid was that stained his hand scarlet.

_Blood._

**A/U: **A bunch of you are probably thinking "Woah. What the hell just happened. WHAT DID YOU DO." Well, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter… which might not be a while, because I don't have much planned for it :D; *shot again*

BUTYEAH, tell me what you think guys, and if you could, tell me if I should change the theme of the story to Drama/Friend or Drama/Romance.

I swear I'll try an update before the end of summer break, but I'm not making any promises, because you know what happens when I do that D:


	9. Soaked

**A/N:** OHMYGOD it's done. Finallyyyy. I feel so accomplished! xD

A few weeks ago I was thinking about how my birthday was coming up, and the first thing that came to mind was that I posted chapter 8 on my birthday last year. And then it REALLY hit me. Holy cow, it's been a YEAR. My birthday was on July 28th, and I was planning on posting this chapter on that day because I really didn't want to go over the year mark. I went to my cottage for a week and was able to write about ¾ of this chapter in pen. Then I stayed up until about 3AM on my first night back home writing the rest, so I could have about 3 days to type it all up. Unfortunately my computer's birthday present to me was to completely freeze, shut down, and break while I was typing it up. Luckily I sent what I had written to a friend, so she sent it back.

It's 1AM on August 2nd right now, and I am FINISHED. I'm a few days over schedule, but I hope you can all forgive me. ;w;

If anyone is reading this right now who has been patiently waiting since I posted chapter 8 (or previous chapters), please leave a comment/review. It would be so great to know who has kept a lookout for the next chapter for so long and hasn't given up!

And WHAT? 260 reviews? You people are INSANE. But that is why I love you~! Thanks to everyone who was so understanding with the delay, and thanks to everyone who was so excited for the next chapter and took the time to leave a review. It makes me _Smile_. :3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Soul Eater. Be glad I don't. If I did, manga chapters would be released annually.

Spirit sighed loudly as he sat on his chair at work, elbow on the desk and head resting on his hand as he filled out the last few forms for the day. It was still only early afternoon. Even lawyers had slow days. The irritating ring of his office phone snapped him from his reverie. He picked it up, thankful for a distraction.

"Albarn's office." He stated formally, then frowned, realizing his secretary hadn't answered first. Either she was taking an unannounced coffee break, or this wasn't business.

"Hello," a deep, confidant voice replied, "is this Spirit Albarn, Maka's father?"

"Yes…" he hesitated. He knew Maka would never cause trouble at school. Concern furrowed his brow. "What's wrong…?"

"This is the principal of her school, Mr. McMahon. It is crucial that I inform you that your daughter has been a victim in a school shooting, but…"

"What!" Spirit screamed, standing so abruptly that his chair fell back. He stood gaping at nothing, all blood draining from his face, unable to speak or move. He heard the principal talking again, but couldn't make out any words. Maka was in a shooting. Maka could be hurt. Maka could be…

His senses returned and he immediately hung up the phone, not listening to the rest of the principal's words. He grabbed his jacket from the floor and stormed out of the building.

-Smile-

He didn't know how he managed it, but Spirit was able to make the twenty-minute drive from his work to Maka's school in ten minutes, without a single encounter with the law. Luck was on his side.

He drove—or swerved—into the large parking lot behind the school. A patrol car was stopped in the drive where buses unloaded students in the morning. The patrol light flashed brightly against the faces of all the teenagers gathered around the scene. As Spirit approached and stopped a bit far behind the car, he noticed 'Caution' tape wrapped around a few recycle bins, encasing the 2-meter width walkway for about a length of six meters. What was within that tape?

Blood. Splatters here and there, a handprint, and next to that handprint, a pool. A pool of blood that could almost encase a person. Most of it was dry already, so it seemed as though, while the blood was spread across a large area, it hadn't been thick.

Someone must have been lying on it. The person who was shot. Unconscious, or… Spirit's fingers went rigid against the wheel, knuckles white. _Maka._

"Hey, Spirit!" a voice boomed suddenly. The lawyer blinked, releasing the wheel as he turned to see who'd yelled. Relief flooded him for a moment. About twenty feet in front of his car stood a police officer, waving a hand lazily, a cigarette between his index and middle finger.

His name was Joe Buttataki—or JB for short. He was Spirit's old buddy from high school. He'd always wondered why JB hadn't become a lawyer himself. The guy could replace a _lie detector._ He'd said that he wasn't comfortable being in a courtroom as often as lawyers were. Instead, he became a police officer. He'd tell Spirit about someone looking for a lawyer—if he knew they were innocent. This was one, if not the main reason, that Spirit was so successful in his career.

JB frowned when he realized Spirit wasn't leaving his car. Walking forward, he let his hand fall to his side, dropping his cigarette and twisting his foot over it as he stomped towards the lawyer. As he approached the driver seat, Spirit opened the window.

"Where's Maka?" Spirit demanded before JB could speak. The officer halted in his steps, a foot or so from the window. His frown deepened. Spirit's heart began the race. JB raised his thin eyes to the sky, sighed, and let his broad shoulders fall, as if defeated. He walked a bit closer to the window. And then he said the words Spirit was hoping would never come from anyone's lips.

"Maka's in the hospital."

Spirit was rolling his window up before JB could clarify. He felt the window stop too soon, but didn't care. Blood rushed through his brain, emotions filling him so much that adrenaline charged through his system, deafening him. He began to drive, but a loud banging on the window stopped him.

"She's not the one that's hurt. You're crushing my hand."

Spirit turned back to the window, life returning to his eyes. Then he saw why JB said he was crushing his hand. His fingers were trapped, squished because he'd rolled up the window without looking. He must have been in horrible pain, but his expression was so controlled that it was as if there were no nerves in his hand.

"W-" Spirit began, coughing when his voice only came out as a whisper, "Why didn't you say that first?"

"I didn't think you would jump to conclusions."

"This is my daughter! If you say she's in the hospital and there's blood everywhere, what the hell am I supposed to assume?"

JB sighed again. "Okay, I understand, I'm sorry. Just let me finish." Spirit rolled the window down, and the officer continued, "Maka went in the ambulance with the boy who was shot. He got a bullet to the chest and is in critical condition." BJ glanced at the pool of blood on the other side of the car, and when he met Spirit's gaze again, his eyes were soft. "Spirit, Maka is very upset. _Very _upset. She might be sitting in a hospital waiting room alone right now, feeling the same way you would if she was hurt that badly." His eyes became sharp, lips set in a thin line. "I know you don't want her to go through that on her own. So go and tell her everything will be okay."

Spirit stared, astonished at such caring words coming from his friend. Usually he was cheery, or serious with some dark humor thrown in. Spirit remembered the group of students, but didn't look at them. They'd probably told JB what had happened, or, at least, the connection Maka had with the victim. Maybe JB saw something in that connection. Whatever the case, he saw something to care for, and that was enough.

Spirit nodded, but before he shut the window, he looked forward, into the back of the patrol car. It looked empty.

"Do you have the gunman?" he asked, still looking forward.

"Yes. He's unconscious at the moment. Apparently the victim punched him out… _after _he was shot." JB finally cracked a smile. "Talk about karma. Well, no one's been able to identify him just yet. As for the charges against him, well…" All humor left his voice.

"We'll have to wait for that."

-Smile-

The drive to the hospital was a breeze for Spirit—not to say that he wasn't stressed out. JB was able to contact other patrol cars around the city to allow his car to go unnoticed under their radar, meaning there was no speed limit. So a ride from the school to the hospital, which would normally take about fifteen minutes, was reduced to five.

As soon as Spirit walked through the front door, a security guard stood and marched over to him. Spirit recognized him immediately. A friend of JB's, though his name was lost in Spirit's preoccupied mind.

He was lead onto the elevator, not a word spoken between the two, due to Spirit's anxiety and the guard's presumably anti-social personality. The guard hit the button for the fourth floor and stepped back, the elevator beginning its ascent. For Spirit, that simple task of waiting to go up lasted forever.

When the doors finally opened, he bolted into the hall, looking about frantically, not sure where he was going.

"Head down the hall to the left and look on your right for the waiting room. You should see your daughter through the glass wall." The guard instructed, and, surprisingly, nodded with a small smile. "JB sends his wishes." The door closed.

Spirit nodded slightly at the closed elevator door and ran down the hall. He didn't care for the looks patients and nurses gave him. He was focused solely on finding Maka. He kept his eyes on the right, panic coursing through him as he passed each door. Had the guard told him to look on the wrong side? The wrong hall? The wrong floor? Question upon question ran through his mind, with each creating doubt. He promised not only himself, but also JB that he would get to her quickly. Every second meant Maka was hurting more.

Then he saw it. Eleven doors down, near the far end of the hall, was the waiting room. The glass wall presented a room—small and square, about 3 meters both ways—with hard cushion chairs lining the far and side walls. A round table sat in the center, piled with magazines and a few old toys.

In the very middle chair on the far wall sat Maka. Relief filled Spirit at the sight of his daughter unharmed. Though JB had told him she was fine, it was reassuring to see her himself.

Then he saw how she was sitting.

Her back was hunched over, her elbows resting on her lap. Her ponytails were ruffled, tangled with her hands as they covered her face. Her back suddenly shuddered, as if her breathing hitched. Realization hit Spirit.

She was crying.

Within seconds he opened the door to the waiting room, the knob hitting the wall as he halted in the doorframe. Maka finally looked up, started by the bang of the knob. His heart sank to his gut.

Her face was flushed, skin pale, almost white, except for the red trails streaming down her cheeks where tears were falling. Loose strands from her ponytails were plastered about her face. So much grief enveloped her green irises that Spirit hardly recognized them as hers. Her mouth opened as if she would speak, but her lips trembled so badly that words could not form. Her face contorted as more tears flowed from her eyes.

"P-papa." She finally breathed, standing up shakily. Spirit raced over to her and embraced her. She crumbled in his arms. She heaved and sobbed into his chest, her nails digging into his back as she tried to form words. All that came out was gibberish, despair overtaking the ability to speak. As he cooed comforting words and noises, he realized that she was, in fact, alone.

He'd never seen Maka like this. Even as a toddler, her crying fits were rare and short. Her mother taught her to be strong—not forcefully, but through caring words and actions. Even through the hardest times that would make a normal person break down, Maka's mother always kept a determined, smiling face. Maka had quickly grown into this behavior herself, set on fixing a problem instead of skulking over it. But here she was put in a situation where all she could do was wait. Wait for someone to tell her if a friend she'd witnessed getting shot in the chest was going to survive. She probably felt stressed and useless, maybe even guilty.

Spirit's eyes closed as Maka's sobs began to slow. There was nothing he could say that would comfort her or calm her down. The only thing that would help her was to keep her company and to let her know she wasn't alone.

To let her know that everything would be okay.

-Smile-

Three hours later, Spirit sat next to Maka, head resting against the wall, eyes on the ceiling as he counted the dots on each panel. He wasn't so much bored as he was trying to be distracted. His daughter had hardly said any words since he'd arrived, but when she did, a breakdown usually followed. He wanted to ask her so many questions. How did the shooting happen? Who was the boy who'd gotten shot? Why is he so important? But he knew asking would only hurt her, so he kept his words to himself.

JB called about an hour ago with news of the gunman. Apparently he was a former student of the school that was expelled for causing trouble and put under house arrest for five years, so this wasn't a first offense. He'd been released about a week ago, and was determined to get revenge by causing a massacre, blaming the school for 'ruining his life.' The gunman's name was Asura. When Spirit had told Maka about this, she'd gotten angry, asking why she would care when her friend might die, and then she'd burst into tears.

So there he sat, counting the dots on the ceiling with nothing but the ticking of the clock and Maka's sobs for which to listen.

The door opened. Spirit looked forward as Maka stood, anticipation and hope flooding both of them. A doctor walked in, looking down as he adjusted a clean glove around his right hand.

"Are you two waiting for Soul?" he asked without looking up. Spirit frowned and looked at Maka.

"Yes," she rasped, "We are. How is he…?" Spirit could see that she was trying to keep her voice calm, but it was obvious by her shaking arms that she was suffering.

The doctor finally looked up. His mouth was set in a thin line, his expression betraying no emotion. Then, he sighed, his mask disappearing. Spirit heard the words before he said them.

"We did everything we could."

Nothing happened. Maka didn't move. The doctor didn't move. Spirit could only stare at his daughter, waiting for her reaction. But she just stood, gaping at the doctor as if he hadn't answered. After almost a minute, she turned to Spirit, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That's when he realized why she hadn't reacted.

She didn't understand.

"Papa… what does he mean?" she mumbled. He had to look away, completely horrified by the fact that he'd have to explain what the doctor had meant.

"Maka, he…" Spirit's voice caught, unable and unwilling to form words. Instead, he looked up, meeting her gaze and hoping the sorrow in his eyes would explain. Her brows furrowed further.

"Papa, what…?" she trailed off as she searched his expression. She found what she was looking for. Her eyes went wide in recognition. "No…" she whispered, hoping what she'd seen was wrong. Spirit's expression stayed the same. He stood as he saw tears well in her eyes, her trembling hands just barely cupping her cheeks. "N-no, it's not…" her voice shuddered and broke into a choking sound. "He can't. He _couldn't_. There's no way…"

No one protested with her. Spirit wrapped his arms around her gently as tears began to fall down onto her cheeks and hands. Sobs threatened to escape, her shoulders hitching as she waiting for someone to say that it was all a sick joke… but it wasn't. She crumpled in Spirit's arms, dragging the both of them to their knees as a blood-curling scream burst from her lungs. A scream of pure agony.

_"Nooooo!"_

-Smile-

One hour later, Maka sat in the surgery room, cleared of all doctors and nurses and tools. All that remained was the chair she sat on and the surgery table where Soul lay. Or rather… where his body lay.

After her breakdown in the waiting room, the doctor had offered her one visit to him before they moved him. One last goodbye. So there she sat, looking at his lifeless face.

"You look like you're sleeping…" She mumbled, voice echoing through the room without a reply. When she realized no one _would _answer back, her head hung down. She shut her eyes tightly as tears threatened to escape. She took a deep breath and looked back up. "They told me you died after the surgery was finished. It went so well. The bullet somehow didn't hit your heart or lungs, so it was easy to get out… well, easier, though it was… still really deep…" She trailed off for a moment, took another deep breath, and continued. "So they finished, stitched you up, and then… everything… stopped…"

Maka felt tears on her face, but didn't care. "You just up and left. Didn't even care that you were leaving me with all of this… this… _guilt!_" Her hands balled into fists. "Why did you have to come after me, you idiot? Why! That bullet was meant for me! You could be alive right now! Stupid _idiot!_"

She froze, words disappearing into the air, replaced by the gentle humming of the hospital lights. Maka sniffed as she unclenched her hands. Her gaze fell to the imprint of his right hand beneath the blanket thrown on top of him. She stared at it for a moment, then, almost unconsciously, she reached out and lifted the blanket slightly, just enough for her to reach out and hold his hand. His skin was ice cold. She cupped his hand in both of hers, lowering her head as more tears flowed down her face.

"Thank you… thank you so, _so_ much. For… everything."

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, just holding his hand as she cried, tiny sobs and gasps escaping her lips every few seconds. She didn't want to say goodbye. She _couldn't_ say goodbye. Not like this. Not the way they left off. Her last words to him had been those of anger. How was she supposed to know that that would be the last time they'd speak? She couldn't have known. It had been so sudden and random that it was impossible to predict. Even so, as she sat there, hands caressing his clammy, lifeless fingers, she wished she could take it all back. She wished she could turn back time and apologize instead of running away. She wished she could bring him back and tell him everything was okay.

She wished she could see him smile…

"Ma… ka…"

Her heart stopped. Her breath caught in her throat. Her tears seemed to go into a standstill on her face. The air itself slowed. Everything froze.

Maka told herself she was being delusional, that her mind was playing tricks on her because a part of her denied the fact that Soul was dead. Yet his voice had been so clear that it seemed impossible that her mind could create such an hallucination. So she waited. And sure enough, only a few seconds later, she though she felt his finger twitch. Maka didn't care whether that had been her imagination or not. She looked up.

His eyes were open; half lidded, as if he'd just woken up. For a moment, Maka wondered if his eyes had been like that before, but she recalled otherwise. And then something happened that she _knew_ was real.

His head turned, just enough so that his tired eyes bore into hers. Then, he spoke.

"You look… sad…"

Every ounce of misery was replaced with relief and happiness. Fresh tears fell down her cheeks, but a smile ran across her face.

"Oh thank God, you're okay! Soul, you're okay." She sobbed happily, struggling to keep her foggy eyes open. She feared if she closed her eyes he'd disappear. He looked at her for a moment, as if confused. Then he blinked, his eyes widening slightly as he remembered. And then he did something that Maka could not believe.

Soul smiled. Just barely—his mouth almost made a straight line—but his expression brightened. It was the first time Maka had ever seen him… _happy_.

"No… _you're_ okay."

It took her a moment to register what he'd said. Her smile had dropped from the pure shock of seeing him show some sign of happiness. As she took his words in, the meaning became obvious. He meant that she hadn't been hurt or shot. That as long as she was okay, it didn't matter how bad things were for him—including the possibility of death.

That he cared. As long as she was safe, he was happy.

Her smile returned, stretching further across her face. They stared at each other for a few seconds, just revelling in the fact that both of them were alright. Maka squeezed his hand gently. The moment ended.

His eyes snapped open, his smile disappearing with the action. It was as if he'd been struck by lightning. For a moment, Maka just stared, confused. When realization hit her, all color drained from her face. _He could be having a seizure or something. He could be dying… again._

"Soul… are you okay…?" she whispered, almost too afraid to ask. He didn't answer. Instead, his face tilted down and to the right slightly, as though he was looking at something. Maka sat there frozen, patiently and fearfully waiting for some kind of reaction.

"Y-your… hands."

Her shoulders drooped from relief and uncertainty. What was wrong with her hands? She looked down at them, brows furrowed. She saw nothing wrong. Thoughts cycled through her brain as to why Soul would mention her hands. A memory crossed her mind, and she knew why he was panicked.

She was _holding_ his hand.

The whole reason their fight had started was because Soul had walked out of the cafeteria… after Kidd had touched his shoulder. For some unknown reason, Soul was afraid of physical contact. Even the smallest amount of intentional contact made him scared.

Maka was not only_ touching_ his hand, but_ holding_ it with both of hers.

"Oh, sorry!" she sputtered, letting go of his hand, "So, so sorry!"

His eyes began to droop as he calmed down, but he kept his gaze on his hand, as if frustrated.

"No… your hands were…" his eyes closed, "… _warm_…"

Maka blinked. Then blinked again. Had she heard him right? Was he… _accepting_ physical contact? Hesitantly, she reached out with her left hand. Her fingers hovered over his for a moment, contemplating whether it was okay to try or not. She took in a silent breath and let her hand fall. His hand flinched slightly, but otherwise didn't move.

And then, ever so gently, his weak fingers folded around her palm.

Maka's smile returned as she slipped her other hand under his. She watched as his head lulled back as he welcomed sleep. Everything, right then, was perfect. There was absolutely nothing that could bring her down. The door clicked open, but she didn't even notice, lost in the bliss of the moment.

"Maka," she heard a familiar voice echo in the background, catching sadness in their tone but not caring why, "We have to…" the voice suddenly cut off. She finally looked over at the door and saw her father standing there, an expression of total shock plastered on his face. _Oh yeah._ Maka though, _he doesn't know._ She presumed he'd seen the rise and fall of Soul's chest under the blanket along with her smile and had stopped to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Is… he…?" Spirit choked out. Maka just nodded, knowing that's all he needed. For a moment, Spirit just stood there, mouth hanging open. Then, so suddenly she hardly noticed, he bolted out of the room, yelling at the top of his lungs. Not nonsense, but words. Words that somehow made the moment so much more _real._

"He's alive! Soul is alive!"

-Smile-

Soul Eater was out of the hospital in two weeks.

The doctor had told Maka he'd made a miraculous recovery… though 'miraculous' seemed like an understatement after his strange resurrection. The doctor explained that his 'death' had actually been a temporary paralysis that can cause the function of vital organs—like the heart—to slow dramatically, making it near impossible for doctors to detect them. The cause? No one was one hundred percent sure. Their best guess was the rapid release of adrenaline through his blood stream, so quickly that his brain couldn't handle it and slowed everything down so that it could recuperate. Another suggestion was just the shock of being shot. But why was there such a delayed reaction? Another unanswered question Maka really didn't care about. As long as Soul was okay, it didn't matter.

He slept for a few days after the surgery. He'd regain consciousness once every six hours or so, and it would only last a few seconds. His eyes would open, he'd see Maka sitting there, and then he'd fall back asleep again.

When he woke on the fifth day with enough energy to ask for water and food, they did some tests. Soul would have a small panic attack every time a nurse got close, but Maka's reassurance kept him from hurting himself… or them.

The doctor came in later that day announcing that Soul could leave in one week's time, though he should stay a couple days just to be safe. Spirit was there when he'd said this and asked about the medical bill. It had already been paid off. Then Maka realized something. No one had been in the waiting room with her during his surgery… and no one was here, waiting for him to recover. Yet… the medical bill had been paid off? Maka knew that if she asked Soul, he'd probably panic—or even get angry. So she kept her mouth shut.

Maka stayed with him for those two weeks, only daring to leave his side when he was asleep. Spirit would visit every day, bring Maka some fresh clothing and both hers and Soul's homework. Then he'd take the completed homework and bring it back to the school's office the next day. Maka wrote out Soul's work as he answered them orally for the first few days. She didn't mind, of course.

Thankfully, the last week went by quickly. Soul was let out of the hospital and Spirit drove him home on the way back to school to drop off homework, Maka sleeping in the passenger's seat.

And then, everything went back to normal. Well… _almost._

For the first few days of returning to school, Soul was very… _clingy._ That kind of 'first-day-of-kindergarten' kind of clingy, where a mom would hold hands with her child throughout the school day because her child wasn't used to leaving her side just yet, Soul being the child and Maka being the mom.

Was hand-holding mentioned? Because there was a _lot_ of hand-holding. Soul didn't seem to understand the concept that two teenagers of the opposite sex holding hands all the time _meant_ something… or he didn't care.

For a few days, Maka walked Soul to all of his classes, holding his hand as she dragged him through the crowd of teenagers. She was almost always late, but every time she was, her teachers excused her, somehow understanding her situation.

Everyone watched her when she walked through the halls. Some people watched her sympathetically, some in surprise, and some looked as though they were accusing her of something, of what, she didn't know. When she was towing Soul around, the looks changed. Sympathy was still there, but some had changed to jealousy, and there was a _lot_ of the 'holy-cow-this-will-make-good-gossip' face coming from the girls. But whatever their expressions were, whether Soul was with her or not, all conversation would cease as Maka approached, and when she passed, whispers followed her. It was eerie and uncomfortable. Being the center of attention for so many people was _way_ too much.

A week or so passed before she could finally see Black Star, Liz and Patty. Kidd was in her English class worrying and nagging every day, and Tsubaki was in P.E. with her, being sympathetic and telling Maka that she could talk to her about anything whenever—and _only_ if—she wanted to. One Maka missed and the other was just a headache.

Maka kept her routine of seeing them for half of lunch and seeing Soul for the other half. Another two weeks past but she never asked Soul to join her friends in the cafeteria, keeping in mind what had happened last time. Surprisingly, though, he asked _her_ if he could visit them. Of course she said yes… but she regretted it afterwards. It was just as awkward—if not more so—than the first time, and by the time the bell rang, Soul was shaking so badly his teeth started to chatter.

Over the next few weeks, his offers to visit became more frequent. He always shook badly by the end of lunch, but he tried to talk more each time, answering yes and no questions with a few words tacked on. Twice he'd even started a conversation, one with Black Star, _and_ got the last words. Maka would never forget it.

"Why is your hair blue?"

"Why is _your_ hair _white_?"

"… Because it is."

"…"

The other conversation wasn't so much a conversation as it was a sentence. Soul had said the taboo—mentioning Kidd's striped hair. When Kidd went into his crying fit, Maka could have sworn she saw him smile, _just_ a bit.

A few days later, winter break began, and a few days after that, it was Christmas.

-Smile-

A loud knock at the door woke Maka from her slumber. She grumbled loudly, telling the door to shut up and turning over in her bed. Half a minute later, the doorbell rang. _Touché, door. Touché. _Maka thought as she cracked her eyelids open to check the time. Her clock read 11:00AM. She squinted, thinking about how late or early that was. When she realized that that the morning was almost over, she shot out of bed and started to change out of her PJs. The bell rang again.

"One second!" Maka yelled as politely as she could while she threw on a baggy shirt. She grabbed a pair of jeans and bolted from her room, putting them on as she made her way to the front door. After buttoning her pants, she swung the door open. For a moment, the pure white snow that covered the ground outside blinded her, impairing her ability to recognize her visitor. She blinked a few times and looked up. She had to blink again, this time from surprise.

"Merry… Christmas…" Soul mumbled.

"Soul? What are you doing here?" Maka asked, still a bit disoriented from sleep. He shrugged and shifted nervously for a second before answering.

"Well, it's Christmas… I thought people visited each other and exchanged presents on Christmas…" he said. Maka didn't respond. She just stared, words still coming to her. He inhaled, waited a bit longer, and then thrust his hand out. "Here." Maka looked down at the package in his hand. Subconsciously, she took it. As she inspected its shiny red wrapping and small green bow, she realized what it was.

"A present? For me?" she breathed, mouth agape. Her heart sank. "Oh, Soul, I didn't get anything for you! I can't take this!"

"That's okay." He shrugged, "Open it."

Maka watched him for a second, making sure it really was okay, then sighed because of her own forgetfulness and began to open the present. She snapped the tape off the end of the thin, rectangular gift, unfolding the wrapping as gently as possible. When the end was open, she slipped the contents out.

It was a book—a black hardcover with one of those paper cover things that you can slip off so you don't get fingerprints on it. On the center of the paper cover was the title. In bright rainbow colors it declared _The Book of Awesome._ She looked up at Soul and raised an eyebrow, then went back to the book. She opened the cover and read the description on the inside flap in her head. "_The Book of Awesome_ is filled with smile-inducing moments on every page…"

_Maybe Soul should keep this book for himself… _Maka smiled at her own thought.

"Thank you." Soul said, startling Maka. She gawked at him when she realized what he'd said.

"… What?"

"You smiled." He mumbled, tucking his chin into his winter coat awkwardly, "You being happy is a good enough present for me."

Maka stared at him in surprise for a few seconds, then looked away as she felt heat crawl across her cheeks. She honestly had no idea how she was supposed to reply to that, so she just giggled nervously and smiled again. A booming voice behind her broke the awkward moment.

"Merry Christmas!" Spirit yelled as he pranced up behind his daughter, "And good morning, Soul. How are you feeling?"

"It's been almost two months, Papa. He's fine." She sighed. Then she realized something. "Hey, why didn't you answer the door?"

"Because I was in my study and—Oh, look!"Spirit gasped, pointing up. A mischievous grin crept onto his face.

"_Mistletoe…!"_

Heat returned to Maka's face, from both embarrassment and anger. Unconsciously, she lifted her book, turned around, and slammed it straight down onto her father's head. He went crumbling to the floor as he held his wound and whaled. _Huh… _Maka thought, _That worked well… I should use books as weapons more often…_

"Idiot!" she hissed, "You put a mistletoe in every doorway!"

"What's mistletoe?" Soul chimed in.

"N-nevermind! It's not important!" Maka sputtered, cursing as she felt heat blaze across her cheeks again. Spirit stood back up, rubbing his forehead and mumbling as he tried to blink tears from his eyes.

"Anyway, Crona called earlier and I told her you'd call back." As Spirit spoke, he gathered his cell phone and keys from the small table by the door and stuffed them in his pockets. Maka's brows furrowed.

"You said you were off today because it's Christmas." Maka reminded. Spirit sighed as he walked past her and Soul.

"I know, but work just called. It's urgent. I can't put it off until tomorrow." He unlocked the door on the driver's side of his car. "I'm really sorry, Maka. I'll make it up to you. I promise." He opened the car door, but before he sat down, he looked at Maka, gave a sad smile and winked. Soul and Maka watched as he drove down the street and turned the corner.

It was only after he'd disappeared that Maka realized she'd never heard his office phone ring.

-Smile-

It was at least midnight. Soul sat on the sofa in his living room, legs tucked in so that his feet dangled slightly off of the couch cushion. His head rested against the back of the sofa, eyes trained on the ceiling. He wasn't doing anything in particular. Just… thinking. Thinking was what kept him awake.

Soul hated sleep. The only time he liked it was when he was in the hospital, where sleep was usually induced by some kind of drug, or by the need to escape from the pain of the surgery. Those sleeps had no dream. No nightmares.

The thoughts that kept him awake that Christmas night were those of him returning to school. Everything had been so different. It scared him. _Still_ scared him. Why?

He could see them. _Everyone._

What had once been auras was now a mass of people—faces, voices, _forms._ He didn't know why it happened, and it scared him, so much so that he stayed by Maka's side whenever possible. They all stared at him, too. They talked about him… he heard his name whispered around him like a mantra. So many voices and faces. He felt small. He felt like he was suffocating.

Maka was the only thing that kept him going. She always looked as though everything was alright. But when she didn't look that way, he was even more terrified, because it meant that there _was_ something to fear. When she was like that, he felt like he had to make her happy.

If she smiled, it meant everything was okay.

The doorbell rang. His head snapped forward so he could see the door. It was pitch black and pouring freezing rain outside. No one ever rang his doorbell during the day, let alone in these conditions. He stood hesitantly, as if he expected the door to burst open. When it didn't, he walked over. As he made his way to the door, the person knocked. The knock was weak, only audible to his ears because he was so close. He reached for the door handle, fingers shaking. He felt his heart speed up as he touched the cold metal. Taking a deep breath, he turned the handle, and pulled.

He froze.

Maka stood there, soaked to the bone, hair and clothes drenched and slowly freezing. Her arms were wrapped around her stomach as she shivered so violently that her legs could give out at any second.

"M… Maka…?" Soul breathed, not believing what he saw. She looked up at him. Scrapes decorated her cold skin as if she'd fallen on ice patches that covered the sidewalks. With eyes barely half-lidded, she smiled.

"M-M… Merry Christmas." She chattered through her teeth.

And then she fell into his arms.

**A/N: **Heyyy, another cliffhanger. Yayyyyy.

I bet a lot of you ended up skipping ahead to see if Soul was okay. If you did, SHAME ON YOU. SHAAAME. Anyway, I really hope this chapter was alright. I know I summarized a crapload of stuff in the middle there, but I really didn't know what I could write. Plus I didn't want to make this chapter insanely long. It's like 17 pages on Word. *dies*

Also, to anyone who suggested the theme I should make this story, I need to clarify. I didn't mean in accordance to the plot. I have it all planned out in my head, so the plot will stay the same. I meant what the two themes of this story seemed to be, considering what you've read so far. I'm just going to leave it as Friendship/Romance for now, because I'm not sure if I should change it.

Again, thanks for all the reviews and support, and it would be greatly appreciated if you could review this chapter, because I'm not sure if I still have my writer's touch for this story. It's been a year after all. xD'

(By the way, The Book of Awesome exists, and that description is an actual phrase from it. I have the book. You can buy it at your local bookstore. Or Wal-Mart.)


	10. Off By Heart

**A/N:** URGH. I told some people that I'd have this up before the New Year AS A JOKE, meaning I'd update earlier, but OH LOOK it's January 5th. Kill me now.

For those who have me on alert, you may have seen a lot of video game fanfics. Yeeeaaaah... So I'm working on 3 other fics. 2 of them are rated M. And they are yaoi. OHGOD WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME.

Soyeah, that's one reason for my absence. The others are the usual-school, procrastionation and writer's block. ALSO because the only thing I had to write/type fanfics was my dad's laptop because my computer decided to completely die and is now collecting dust in my basement uselessly. LUCKILY I got my own laptop for Christmas! I was able to type half of this chapter in class in the last two days~

And HOLYGOD over 300 reviews? I am just... speechless. I didn't think this fic would still have so much attention. Thank you all for the amazing support!

Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope you enjoy~

**Disclaimer:** I was finally going to buy the rights to Soul Eater but then the Bed Intruder Guy went all up in my face about some rapist in the neighborhood and kept telling me to hide my kids and hide my wives in a remixed song fashion. Then I spent a long time wondering how I obtained said children and when I became a polygamous lesbian (No offense to anyone). Anyway, soyeah. I don't own it.

_Maka walked through an empty hall. The graffiti on the lockers reminded her of her school, but she couldn't remember how she'd gotten there. Stranger still was the fact that it was snowing inside, flakes seeming to form from the ceiling itself, falling into piles lining the walls or straight through the floor, creating a path. The hall looked endless; floor, ceiling and walls seemed to meet at the end of her vision like the sky and land meet on the horizon. She turned once to see if she could go back, but the doorless wall behind her followed her as she went, shrinking with each step she took._

_She walked for what seemed like hours, or even days. As she went, the snowflakes slowly became slushy, and then turned into freezing rain. She felt it prick her skin—so cold that it burned—but her brain refused to register the pain and she kept moving forward, hall stretching forever no matter how far she went. A shape suddenly formed in the distance. Maka wanted to run towards it, but her legs kept at a slow walking pace, as if scolding her for being so impatient. As she approached the shape, it became apparent that it was a person. They weren't moving. As if… they were waiting for her._

_The rain began to lose its cold tinge, slowly beginning to feel more like a spring drizzle. The dim light above the person began to flicker erratically, impairing Maka's ability to identify who it was. It was only when she was within talking distance that she could tell._

_"Soul?" she mumbled, mouth moving without her thinking, "What's wrong?"_

_Soul's head was down, arms dangling at his sides. He didn't move for a few minutes. He began to look up, the motion so slow it took Maka a moment to notice. He stopped when his eyes just barely peeked through his ruffled white hair. His crimson irises were piercing… unnaturally dark… The rain suddenly started getting warmer, like water slowly boiling in a kettle._

_"I can't tell you…" Soul breathed. His voice seemed to echo off the walls. But it wasn't an echo. There seemed to be a voice overlapping his, as if two records were playing the same thing and one was less than a second off. She felt the rain start to burn her skin, but ignored it. Her brows furrowed._

_"Why not? You can tell me anything." Her voice was slightly muted by a strange but familiar sound. It was the sound a TV made when there was no reception—static. The sound was far off, somewhere behind Soul. It started getting louder. Soul finally looked up, looking at her full-on with a glare as dark as coal. But she hardly noticed his eyes. No… something else caught her attention._

_He had no mouth._

_"Why not?" Soul's disembodied voice echoed in two parts, his gaze somehow becoming darker. The boiling rain suddenly became flaming embers. Her skin began to smoulder and burn while he stood there untouched. The static became impossibly loud. He spoke again, but his voice seemed to be right in her ear despite the distance between them._

_**"You wouldn't understand."**_

_She fell to her knees, pain overtaking her ability to stand. He gave her one last glare before turning and walking down the hall. The source of the static sound became clear. It was not a TV, but a giant wave of water, barrelling down the hall, engulfing the walls and falling embers as it went. Soul only took a few steps before it engulfed him; the waves seemed to fold around him instead of drown him._

_Everything froze in that instant, embers floating in the air, droplets of water from the wave looking almost solid. Soul turned as if unaffected by the sudden freeze of time and the fact that he was surrounded by water. He looked back at Maka. His eyes were filled with sorrow. His disembodied voice sobbed into her ear, so quietly she almost missed it._

"_Will you ever understand…?"_

_Time flowed again, and the last thing Maka saw was water rushing towards her._

-Smile-

Maka woke, gasping from the end of her dream. She took in a few deep breaths as consciousness returned to her and her mind processed the fact that what she'd witnessed hadn't been real. After she calmed down, she realized she was sweating—and the culprit was not the dream. As she struggled to sit up from the bed, the blonde noticed that she was wrapped, cocoon-like, in a blanket… scratch that. _Two_ blankets. Her eyebrows furrowed at this, and she unwrapped herself from the covers to keep from boiling. But when those were gone, the confusion became complete disbelief.

She wasn't in her bed—or house, for that matter. She also happened to be wearing sweatpants and a baggy logo t-shirt. Neither was hers.

In a panic, she screamed and flailed, trying to stand up but ending up falling off the bed instead. As she lay on the floor, breathing heavily and trying to calm herself, she recollected her thoughts. What happened last night? Where was she? Why was she here? She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to rid the headache that seemed to accompany her recollection.

Oh, wait, that's right. She was in Soul's house. She left her house because… because… because of _that._

Her shaking breaths became a groan of annoyance as she stood, rubbing her forehead. She looked around the room. Soul's room. Woah, what? Immediately she left, face growing red in embarrassment. The blonde walked around the house, looking for her companion. God, she felt stupid. The last thing she remembered was standing on his doorstep. She couldn't imagine how lost Soul must have felt; how confused. She needed to find him and apologize—explain what had happened.

Wow, his house was _huge_. It took her a good ten minutes to get downstairs and find the kitchen. She'd checked every room… but he was nowhere. Or he'd gone to a room she'd already checked within the time it had taken her to look around. Maka shook her head and leaned against the counter, eyes drifting about as she thought. Then something hot was pressed against her back. She yelped and moved away from the counter, whipping around to observe the offending object. It was a metal thermos, and whatever was inside was clearly still boiling. She quirked an eyebrow at this before realizing there was a piece of paper lying beside it. She picked it up and read the words that were scrawled hurriedly across the lines.

_Maka, please drink this. It's green tea. I'll be back soon. Soul._

Maka gaped slightly at the message before staring back at the hot thermos. Was he… taking care of her? She'd stumbled into his home and passed out without so much as a word to explain her sudden visit. Yet he'd taken her in, given her his clothes—his _bed_—and he'd even made her tea. It was as though she'd been living there forever.

Maka smiled to herself, setting the paper back down to take the cup off the top of the thermos. She poured the brewed tea into the mug. Grabbing the container of sugar that stood behind the thermos, she spilled about a teaspoon's worth into the warm liquid. With one whiff of the steam rising from the cup, she put it to her lips and took a small sip. The pleasant warmth cascaded down her throat.

She felt at home.

It must have been her fifth or sixth sip when she heard the front door open. Without a moment's hesitation, she set the mug down and headed over to the front room left of the kitchen. Snow rushed in through the opening doorway, obscured slightly by the shape making its way into the house.

Soul blinked at her from beneath his winter hat and puffy jacket, setting a large bag that looked like luggage down on the floor. "You feeling better?"

Maka stuttered at the simplicity of the question. No anger? No confusion? No need for an explanation? None…? It was so weird—standing there, waiting for him to ask so many questions… and then being asked something that totally disregarded what she'd expected.

He didn't need an explanation. He was okay with her just being safe.

"Uh… Yeah, much better… Thank you for the tea…" she mumbled. Soul nodded slightly in response, taking off his hat and opening the closet to put it away. His white hair was ruffled but still held the same shape she'd always seen. Coughing gently, she continued, "Um… so, what's in the bag…?" Soul turned to face her at this question, blinking as if she should already know.

"Your stuff," he stated simply. The look she gave him must have been horrifying or angry, because he immediately followed up with, "If you didn't want me to get it, I'll bring it back."

"No! No, that's okay… But… but… how? _Why?_"

"I found your house key in one of your shoes, and no one was home so I packed some of your things and came back." He seemed to have missed the second part of Maka's question, because he didn't continue. Something squirmed inside of his coat, and there was a muffled cry that she vaguely recognized. Soul cringed a bit before unzipping his jacket slightly. There was a tuft of purple fur… then Blair jumped out onto the floor. She mewed in contentment at seeing her owner. Maka frowned.

"Actually, Soul, I was… I was planning on staying at Tsubaki's…"

"Don't leave." Maka was taken aback at his abruptness, looking up into his eyes. There was fear in his red irises. Fear and panic. It was weird, seeing that much emotion spill out from his monotonous exterior. Only a few months ago, all she could see in his expression was anger and disapproval. Now… now he was so much different. So different, in fact, that he wanted her to stay instead of being alone. She racked her mind for a moment and realized, slowly, that no one else had been in the house.

Did… did he live by himself?

"But… But you don't know what happened, or… or how long I'd have to stay here…"

"That's okay. Just don't leave." There was a strain in his tone, as though he were holding his breath. Then, exhaling, he said, "Please."

Maka faltered at that. He was so sincere. So desperate. She knew he was probably just doing this for himself, but it meant so much to her. That she didn't have to tell him anything about what had happened to be accepted. To be given a salvation away from anger and frustration. To be offered a home away from home. Despite herself, a smile began to form on her lips, and after a moment of not-much-contemplating, she nodded slightly.

"Alright. I'll stay."

-Smile-

Wow… he… he'd brought _everything._ It's like he'd cleaned out her shelves. All of her clothes, all of her toiletries, her backpack, her work, her cellphone… It was all there.

It took them no more than a half-hour to unpack and put all of her stuff into an extra room. It was a guest bedroom, but there were no sheets on the bed, so they ended up fixing that up as well. By the time they finished it looked as though she'd never left home. Afterwards they sat in his living room, watching TV mindlessly. Maka was paying attention to what was on—some crime show—but Soul seemed to stare past the screen, off in his own little world. It must have been around noon when she finally spoke up. So many questions plagued her mind, and she felt that they were the only things that could raise this comfortable-yet-awkward silence.

She asked, and—surprising Maka once again—he answered without hesitation.

Yes, he did live alone, and for how long he didn't know. He'd just always remembered it being that way in this house. Food was supplied to him via a box appearing at his doorstep in the morning twice a week. Maka could understand that, since he didn't really talk to others and would have a hell of a time going to the grocery store. When she asked where the boxes came from, though, he said he didn't know. He also had no idea what mortgage or taxes were. In the end she ended up having more questions than what she'd started with.

It was only at dinner when they were sitting at the table digging their forks into a pile of mashed potatoes (And damn did Soul know how to cook) that he finally gave her a question of his own.

"So..." Soul cleared his throat, obviously a little nervous, "What happened?"

Maka stayed silent for a moment, not sure how to begin. She placed her fork on her plate and chewed her bottom lip for a moment before stating quite bluntly the reason for leaving home.

"My parents are getting divorced."

"... What?"

She sighed, fingers fiddling with the hem of the logo shirt. "You remember how my dad left suddenly yesterday?" He nodded his acknowledgement. "Well it wasn't for work. He went to... to see another woman." Maka hung her head and bit her lip again. It had been going on for so long and she'd had no idea. Even her _mom_ knew and she didn't say anything. It was the reason she'd hardly seen them in the same room together. The reason her dad seemed to work longer hours than was needed... the reason their 'money was tied up.' Because they were getting divorced and they were splitting their finances. She huffed angrily at the thought of last night—her father coming home and her mother suddenly yelling, spewing out the truth with every harsh word. And now her mom was gone. Left while telling them not to wait up for her because she didn't know when she'd be back. So Maka left as well, refusing to stay in the same household with him. With that deceiver. "I don't understand... why he would do that. I thought he loved mom and me."

Soul stayed silent. His fork had stopped moving, the points resting against the porcelain surface of his plate.

"If it weren't for him, I could still be going to Private School," she sighed angrily, "If it weren't for him, I could see Crona every day! If it weren't for him... _If it weren't for him_..."

"I'd never have met you."

Maka raised her head to look at Soul, but he had his head down, fork fiddling with a piece of potato. He looked sad... unappreciated. The blonde opened her mouth to speak, but no words formed with the action. She wasn't sure how to feel. Thankful that he'd turned a horrible situation in on itself, or ashamed that she'd completely overlooked that important part of the outcome.

"Soul, I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." she trailed off when he didn't make a move to look back at her. She decided to go for the positive. "Thank you."

He looked up at that, meeting her gaze, looking just a bit shocked. She smiled back at him. No, he didn't smile back. But she could see it. The happiness radiating from his red irises.

After a moment of silence, Maka coughed and stood from the table. "I need to, um... Make a phonecall. I'll be back in a second." She wasn't lying. She needed to call Crona to make sure she didn't call her house, and maybe find out where her mother went. She took her plate from the table and placed it in the sink, muttering quietly that she would wash it later.

Still a little unfamiliar with the house, Maka searched around for her bedroom to get her cellphone. In her search, she passed by the home phone placed on the wall in a hallway by the stairs. The message light was blinking. The blonde furrowed her brows, curiosity getting the best of her. She stood before the phone and clicked a few buttons, and before long a woman's voice answered in a monotonous tone.

_"You have 312 new messages."_

She had to blink at that. 312 new messages? On further inspection, Maka noticed that all of the messages came from one phone number. Hesitantly, she looked down the hall, back to where she believed the kitchen would be. She could hear the TV humming softly—Soul was probably watching something now. Quickly, she memorized the number and ran up the stairs, looking about for her bedroom and finding her cellphone. She typed the number in and hit the call button. She listened.

One ring later, the phone was picked up. But there was nothing. No hello. No breathing. Nothing.

"Hello?" Maka asked hesitantly. A sharp intake of breath from the other end. "May I ask who this number belongs to...?"

Silence followed. It went on for a good minute before Maka heard whoever was on the other end hang up. The busy tone rang mockingly in her ear.

The blonde furrowed her brows and looked at her cellphone as though it would give her an answer, or maybe the person would call her back spontaneously. That was a long shot. She sighed and put her phone in the front pocket of her borrowed sweatpants before walking back towards the living room, confusion making her forget about calling Crona and her mother.

"... Maka?" Soul's voice called from down the hall. There was a hesitance in his voice, as though something was wrong. She paced down the hall and reached the entrance to the living room, seeing Soul sitting on the couch, wide-eyed.

"What? What's wrong?" she asked. He pointed his finger at the television screen.

"What are they doing?" He looked completely baffled, and she wondered what could make him so shocked. She looked at the television... and froze. There, on the large screen, was a couple making out. Maka blushed at the picture, turning to walk out of the room.

"I... I don't know!" she lied, embarrassed by the prospect of having to explain what it was. Maka sighed roughly in frustration, slapping a hand over her reddened face as she stomped down the hallway.

She seriously needed to make those calls.

-Smile-

Maka woke with a start, sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes. It was night now. She'd gone to bed early—around nine o'clock. The dishevelled blonde yawned and looked at her phone. It was two in the morning. She groaned an wondered what had woken her as she stood. The dull pulse of a migraine prodded the side of her temple. Ah, that was it. It wasn't some external source that had woken her, but her own distress. When she'd called Crona's house, Ragnarok picked up and said something about her being out of the house for a while. When she'd tried contacting her mother, there was no answer. God, not to mention all those misterious messages on the answering machine. Worry and anger and frustration bottled themselves up into that annoying pounding that had been her unplanned wake-up call. Deciding she wouldn't be able to sleep for a bit, she left her room to get a glass of water.

A humming stopped her from heading down the stairs. She was standing on the top step when she heard it—a low, calm humming. Not a machine like a dryer or a dishwasher, but... a voice? Maka turned hesitantly, looking for the source.

Soul's room. Huh... was he awake?

The blonde padded quietly towards his door that was directly across from the top of the stairs. Even as she stepped up against door, his humming was low. Maybe he was still asleep? Maka placed an ear against the hard wood surface and listened. He was... humming a tune... Maka's eyes (that had closed without her realizing it) shot open. A shiver of recognition ran down her spine.

It was the tune from a couple months ago...

All Maka could do was listen, wide-eyed as his sleepy hum captured every note perfectly. She'd forgotten about the song completely. Forgotten about that terrified look he'd given her when he realized she'd been listening. He liked that song so much, yet he didn't want anyone to hear it... What did it mean? If he hummed it in his sleep, then it must be something unconscious... something so ingrained into his mind that it didn't even leave him in his slumber...

But why...?

A thought came to mind. It was Christmas, and she hadn't gotten him a present, so what if she...?

Maka walked back to her room and opened her school bag, shuffling through binders and papers until she found what she was looking for. Taking the pencil and blank music sheets to her desk, she began to write music notes. Thankfully, she had good memory.

_G..._

-Smile-

Maka woke up late the next morning, despite having gone to bed so early. It was probably karma for staying up so long writing music... and worse, she still had a migraine. Her hair was all over the place, the slightest hint of eyebags beneath her green irises. The blonde mumbled groggily to herself as she dragged her feet across the floor, her destination being the bathroom. Wait... where was that again?

Though surprisingly, she was coherent enough to notice that Soul's bedroom door was open... and that he was sitting there, looking rather sick.

Maka aborted her goal to find the bathroom and shuffled down the hall to stick her head around Soul's door. He sat there rigidly, arms straight as he rested his hands on his knees... or rather, constricting his knees with a vice grip. For a moment, Maka was too afraid to speak, sure that if he noticed she was there something in him would snap. But if she didn't say something, well...

"Soul?" she whispered. He looked at her within the second she'd said his name. But there was no anger or fear. His red irises looked glazed... depressed... "Is... is something wrong?"

He seemed to hesitate at that, eyes searching. Then, "What day is it today...?" And the look he gave her was strange. It was like... he was hoping for something.

"Um... December twenty-sixth?" The question seemed to add itself unconsciously. Her answer only seemed to make him tenser, as the hope dropped from his gaze. He looked away from her, suddenly finding the floor in front of his feet more interesting.

"Oh... it's tomorrow..." he breathed, so low that Maka almost didn't hear it. She raised an eyebrow.

"What's tomorrow?"

He was silent for what seemed like forever, as if conjuring the very words would break his composure and he'd fall into a crumpled heap. A shaky breath escaped him, and as he closed his eyes, he spoke.

"My birthday."

**A/N:** Weak cliffhanger is weak. Well, in my opinion anyway. Hurrderp.

If you're still wondering how Maka found Soul's house, keep in mind that she sees him get off the bus and walk up his driveway every school day. Any other questions, you may ask and I'm quite willing to answer. Except for spoilers. You're just going to have to wait~

Anyway, so this fic is almost done. 2 or 3 chapters more. I'm not sure whether to feel sad or happy... maybe a mix of both.

Yeah, again, not making any promises (Sorryyyyyyy D: ). I plan to work on all 4 fanfics at the same time in intervals, since at the moment I'm feeling inspired with ideas for all of them. If you're willing to wait a while, thank you so so much! It means a whole lot to me. Reviews, as always, are greatly valued. They bring a smile to my face C:


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